Kaduna, 13 February, 2022 / 5:30 pm (ACI Africa).
The recent kidnapping and release of a Catholic Priest and the abduction of an intermediary who was delivering ransom payment in Nigeria’s Kaduna State indicate the severity of kidnappings in Nigeria, officials of the UK-based human rights foundation, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), have said.
In a Tuesday, February 8 report, CSW Founder President, Mervyn Thomas, says the abduction and release of Fr. Joseph Danjuma Shekari, and also the abduction of an individual sent to deliver the ransom for a student at Bethel Baptist High School, explain the severity of the crisis.
“Fr. Shekari’s abduction, and that of the individual sent to deliver the ransom for the final Bethel Baptist High School student, highlight the continuing severity of the kidnapping crisis in Kaduna state,” Mr. Mervyn says.
The CSW President calls upon the government of the West African country to work hard towards the release of the student kidnapped at Bethel Baptist High school and the intermediary who was trying to secure the release of the student.
“We call on the Nigerian authorities to do all in their power to secure the release of the vulnerable young student, the intermediary who sought to assist him, and of all those held captive by armed non-state actors who the Nigerian government has correctly deemed to be terrorists,” he says.
