Nigerian Catholic Priest Freed after Weeks in Captivity, “no ransom paid”

The Nigerian Catholic Priest adds that the Church leadership’s stance on the payment of ransom “does not exclude family members and friends of the kidnapped persons from taking steps to find the sum demanded by the kidnappers.”

Fr. Alumuku’s narrative contradicts Nigerian media reports claiming that a ransom was paid to secure the safe release of Fr. Ozigi.

According to Vanguard, a sum of N10m (US$24,030.00) was paid for the Priest’s release, having been “raised by his church in Minna, family, close associates.”

“Our correspondent gathered that after long negotiations between the bandits and Elders of the church, the huge sum of money was arrived at and a representative from the church was led by a delegation of the bandits to Birnin Gwari forest to deliver the amount to their ‘Commander’ after which the cleric was released,” Vanguard reported Sunday, April 10.

Nigeria Catholic Network (NCN) reported the March 27 abduction of Fr. Ozigi from his Parish in Nigeria’s Niger State, adding that “some terrorists” had “whisked him away alongside other villagers.”

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In a March 28 report by Sahara reporters, a resident in Sarkin Pawa, the Headquarters of Munya Local Government Area of Niger State, identified as Shehu Abubakar was quoted as saying, “The 44 other villagers who were kidnapped had just returned to their communities from Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps on Saturday.”

“Nigeria is grappling with a wave of violence by armed gangs who frequently carry out killings and kidnappings for ransom – mostly in unprotected rural communities,” BBC News reported Monday, April 11.

On March 8, Fr. Joseph Akete was abducted alongside his younger brother who had visited him after St. John’s Catholic Church Parish of Kaduna Archdiocese was attacked. 

The Assistant Parish Priest managed to escape while the security guard was killed during the attack. 

On March 25, Fr. Felix Zakari Fidson who serves as the Parish Priest of St. Ann’s, Zango-Taman Parish was kidnapped shortly after he left his residence at St Ann's Zango Tama ll on his way to the diocesan headquarters. 

Fr. Akete and Fr. Fidson are still in captivity. 

Last week, Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama of Nigeria’s Abuja Archdiocese decried the fact that the nation is witnessing crisis after crisis.

“In Nigeria, we seem to be graduating from the gruesome killings, kidnappings, the skyrocketing prices of goods in the market; the lingering fuel scarcity; the ASUU (Academic Staff Union of Universities) strike action, to the bombing of trains by terrorists and other criminal elements!” Archbishop Kaigama said in his Sunday, April 3 homily.  

The 63-year-old Nigerian Archbishop said the West African country, like the prodigal son, is lost, and needs to “embrace God’s therapeutic and reassuring welcome” to counter the challenges that the people face.”

Nigerians and the nation as a whole need to embrace God’s warm welcome in order “to move on with greater optimism, to turn a new leaf in our socio-economic, political and religious undertakings”, Archbishop Kaigama said April 3.

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Magdalene Kahiu is a Kenyan journalist with passion in Church communication. She holds a Degree in Social Communications from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). Currently, she works as a journalist for ACI Africa.