Hope for Church in Nigeria as Fewer Priests, Consecrated Kidnapped in 2024, All “eventually released”: Report

Globally, according to data that ACN collected, more Catholic Priests and women and men Religious were kidnapped in 2024 than in 2023. ACN reports that at the same time, the numbers arrested for reasons of persecution diminished.

In total, ACN registered 121 cases impacting Priests and women and men Religious, including 13 murders, 37 kidnappings and 71 held under arrest; 10 of these incidents involved women, eight of whom were kidnapped and two arrested.

Whereas in the previous year, the number of those kidnapped stood at 33, in 2024, a total of 37 members of the Clergy and the Consecrated were abducted by criminals.

ACN includes in its lists not only those who were killed, kidnapped or detained for persecution related reasons, but also those serving in difficult or dangerous locations as a testimony of their commitment to God.

In its report, ACN highlights the kidnappings in multiple African countries, including abductions of three Priests in Cameroon, all of whom were released.

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It also highlights the kidnapping of four Priests in previous years, who have not been released nor declared dead, bringing the total number of those kidnapped to 41.

Of the 13 Catholic Priests murdered globally as ACN highlighted, two met their deaths in South Africa in the period of just over a month.

These are Fr. William Banda, originally from Zambia, who was killed on 13 March 2024 by a man who waited for him in his church, and who then escorted him into the sacristy and shot him; and Fr. Paul Tatu Mothobi was shot on 27 April 2024 “after sustaining a gunshot”.

In Cameroon, CAN highlights the killing of Fr. Christophe Badjogou Komla, originally from Togo, who was shot in an attempted robbery.

The Catholic charity also highlights the murder of Fr. Josiah K’Okal, originally from Kenya, who was killed in Venezuela, where he was ministering. Although officially ruled a suicide, his friends and colleagues believe he was the victim of murder, due to his activities in defence of local indigenous populations against criminal gangs.

Fr. Luke Yugue, from South Sudan, was killed as part of an inter-tribal conflict while he was trying to mediate between the parties and finally, as the year drew to an end, Fr. Tobias Onkonkwo, from Nigeria, was shot by unknown assailants while driving on an expressway.

The 2025 ACN report indicates that although less Catholic clergymen and the Consecrated were arrested in 2024 than in 2023, the numbers remain “very concerning”, and point to serious issues with religious freedom and a lack of legal certainty and response in large parts of the world.

According to information that ACN collected, at least 71 Clergy and women and men Religious were under arrest due to their faith or for merely carrying out their religious mission during the year of 2024. This figure includes those who were arrested before 2024 but were still under arrest at some point in 2024.

ACN notes that at the time of writing its report, 10 remained in some form of custody. In its report, ACN counts only arrests that it says “can be considered irregular, or as having a religious or political motivation”, and not those who were arrested for suspicion of committing common crimes.

Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.