Kidnapping for ransom has become an industry in Nigeria, and priests are often targeted.

A priest was kidnapped from the minor seminary where he worked, last Sunday, and taken by armed bandits into the bush. Armed gunmen broke into the Immaculate Conception Minor Seminary, in the Diocese of Auchi, Edo State, Nigeria, at around 19h on Sunday evening and fired shots into the air, causing panic among students and staff, according to a diocesan statement sent to Aid to the Church in Need.

The bandits made their way to the courtyard of the minor seminary and abducted two students, who they intended to take as hostages. However, on hearing the confusion, Fr Thomas Oyode, the rector of the minor seminary, went out and bravely confronted the bandits. Realising that help would not arrive in time to save the two students from being abducted, the priest proceeded to offer to exchange himself for the boys. The bandits accepted and made their way back to the bush with the priest in tow.

The diocese initially published a statement explaining the facts and stating that all other students and staff at the seminary were well, and had been removed to a safer location, but adding that the criminals had not yet made contact with the Church authorities. Meanwhile, however, the Nigerian press is indicating that a ransom has already been requested for the release of Fr Thomas.

Nigeria has become one of the most dangerous countries for priests in the world, over past years, as a combination of religious persecution and banditry has turned them into targets for kidnappings in what has become a criminal industry. Auchi diocese is located in the south of Nigeria, which is mostly Christian, meaning that it is most likely that the kidnappers were acting purely for financial gain, rather than motivated by anti-Christian bias, but there is little information in this regard.

In 2023, a total of 25 priests, seminarians and religious were kidnapped in Nigeria, one of whom was later killed. A further three priests were murdered in the country in the same year. ACN calls on our friends and benefactors to keep the Nigerian priest - and all Nigerian Christians - in their prayers.