Father Joseph Igweagu, from the archdiocese of Onitsha, disappeared after celebrating a funeral.
ACN – Another Nigerian priest has been kidnapped in Nigeria. He is Father Joseph Igweagu, pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Abata Nsugbe, archdiocese of Onitsha, southern Nigeria. «The priest was abducted while returning home after celebrating a funeral Mass in Umunnachi on Wednesday, October 12,» the archdiocese of Onitsha informed the Pontifical Foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).
The communiqué asks for prayers «for his unconditional release from the hands of his kidnappers». The archdiocese of Onitsha assures that they are doing everything possible to secure his freedom. At the same time, «we appeal to our Mother Mary, who unties all knots, to intercede for him so that he may soon be released unharmed», concludes the statement sent to Fides.
The Archdiocese of Onitsha belongs to the state of Anambra, in one of the areas affected by the phenomenon of kidnapping for the purpose of extortion, a crime now endemic in various parts of Nigeria. So far this year some twenty priests and other members of the Catholic Church have already been kidnapped, and some of them have even been found dead. To these cases must be added the case of a young Protestant Christian girl stoned to death by her university classmates for alleged blasphemy, or the attack on a Catholic church on the feast of Pentecost, with fifty fatalities.
Wilfred Anagbe, Bishop of Makurdi, recently denounced before the European Parliament that what is happening in Nigeria «is nothing less than a jihad under many names: terrorism, kidnappings, killer herdsmen, banditry, militias, etc. While the outside world knows the extent of the killings and the ongoing displacement of Christian communities in Nigeria, there is what I call a conspiracy of silence. However, what is happening now goes beyond conspiracy, it is more like open support, aiding and abetting the perpetrators, since there are never any consequences for the culprits.»