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Prayer Appeal for “quick, safe release” of Two Catholic Priests Kidnapped in Nigeria

Fr. Chochos Kunav (right) and Fr. Raphael Ogigba (left), reportedly abducted on April 29 from the Catholic Diocese of Warri in Nigeria. Credit: Courtesy Photo.

Prayers are being sought for the “quick and safe release” of Fr. Chochos Kunav and Fr. Raphael Ogigba, reportedly abducted on April 29 from the Catholic Diocese of Warri in Nigeria. 

In a statement issued April 30, the Delegate Superior of Secular Institute of Schoenstatt Fathers, (Schoenstatt Fathers) announces with “great pain and concern” the abduction of the two Catholic Priests, one of them a member of the Religious Order.

Fr. Kunav, a Schoenstatt member, had traveled to Warri Diocese April 29 “to visit his friend Fr. Raphael Ogigba of the Catholic Diocese of Warri and the Parish Priest of St. Francis Agbara Otor, Ughelli North, Delta State,” Fr. Okereke Kingsley Kizito says about his abducted confrere who he says “lives and works in Ibadan.”

Unfortunately, Fr. Okereke continues, “after a short visit to the Priest in a nearby Parish both Fr. Chochos Kunav and Fr. Raphael Ogigba were kidnapped last night on their way back to the Parish of Fr. Raphael.”

“The incident occurred on the road, in front of Ibru University Agbara Otor,” the Delegate Superior adds.

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In the April 30 statement, Fr. Okereke asks for “intense prayers for quick and safe release” of the two Catholic Priests.

“May Jesus the high priest and the good shepherd take care of his priests and may Our Mother Thrice Admirable, Queen and Victress of Schoenstatt intercede for them,” he implores.

Nigeria 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.

The West African nation has also been experiencing the Boko Haram insurgency since 2009, a group that allegedly aims at turning Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, into an Islamic country.

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.