Prayer Appeal for “safe, sound” Release of Nigerian Catholic Parish Priest Abducted Friday

Okigwe, 21 May, 2023 / 8:53 PM

Prayers are being sought for the “safe and sound” release of Fr. Jude Kingsley Maduka, the Nigerian Catholic Priest abducted on May 19 from Nigeria’s Okigwe Diocese.

In a statement shared with ACI Africa Sunday, May 21, the Chancellor of the Nigerian Catholic Diocese provides details about the abduction of Fr. Maduka who serves as Parish Priest of Christ the King Parish Ezinnachi/Ugwaku of Okigwe Diocese.

In the statement, Fr. Princewill Iwuanyanwu shares the prayer appeal of the Local Ordinary of the Nigerian Episcopal See, Bishop Solomon Amanchukwu Amatu, for the release of Fr. Maduka, who he says was “kidnapped from his New Adoration Site at Ogii village in Okigwe L.G.A. while on inspection at the new site.”

“We solicit your fervent prayers that he may come back to us safe and sound while trusting in your goodwill and solidarity,” the Chancellor of Okigwe Diocese says about his colleague, who was ordained a Priest in September 2012.

Fr. Maduka’s kidnapping is the latest in a series of abductions that have targeted members of the Clergy in the West African nation. 

On April 15,  Fr. Michael Ifeanyi Asomugha, Curate of St Paul’s Parish Osu of Okigwe Diocese, was kidnapped and later released.

On May 4, Fr. Chochos Kunav and Fr. Raphael Ogigba, who had been abducted on April 29 from the Catholic Diocese of Warri in Nigeria, were released.

Africa’s most populous nation has been battling with a surge of violence orchestrated by gangs, whose members carry out indiscriminate attacks, kidnapping for ransom, and in some cases, kill.

It has been experiencing the Boko Haram insurgency since 2009, a group that allegedly aims at turning the West African country into an Islamic nation.