The released seminarians with Rev. Fr Emmanuel Faweh Kazah, PhD (Rector, St Albert Institute) and Very Rev. Fr Jonah Yabanad Stephen (Rector, Christ the King Seminary). Photo: ACN Ireland The three seminarians who were abducted from their seminary in Nigeria’s Kaduna state have been released, the chancellor of the local Church confirmed.
“Barely 48 hours after their kidnap, our beloved brothers were released by their abductors,” Fr Emmanuel Okolo, chancellor of the Diocese of Kafanchan, said in an October 13 statement.
Fr Okolo conveyed his appreciation to “all those that have offered prayers and entreaties for the quick release of our Seminarians and others who are still in the dens of their kidnappers.”
Christ the King Major Seminary in Fayit, Fadam Kagoma, about 10 miles southwest of Kafanchan, was attacked by bandits around 7.30 pm on October 11.
The three seminarians who were abducted from the seminary chapel belong to the Apostles of Divine Charity and the Little Sons of the Eucharist, and are all in their fourth year of theology.
Christ the King Seminary houses more than 130 seminarians.
Six seminarians were injured in the attack. They were taken with some formators to a hospital in Kafanchan by “a dispatch of soldiers of the Operation Safe Haven.” The injured were treated and discharged after being confirmed to be stable”.
Fr Emmanuel Faweh Kazah, rector of the St Albert Institute and a professor at the seminary, told Aid to the Church International October 14, “We were beaten but we won’t stay down. We won’t allow ourselves to be cowed by threats emanating from men and women of the underworld. We will courageously carry the torch of the Gospel to the ends of the earth notwithstanding the barrage of attacks on the Christian Faith!”
Kidnappings of Christians in Nigeria have intensified in recent years, a situation that has provoked Church leaders to express serious reservation about the security of their members and urge the government to prioritise the security of its citizens.
A priest of the Kafanchan diocese was kidnapped last month. Fr Benson Bulus Luka was abducted from his residence September 13, and released after little more than 24 hours.
Fulani herders, most of whom are Muslim, have had sustained conflict with largely Christian farmers over limited natural resources in Kaduna and other states in recent years, and the radical Islamist group Boko Haram continues to jeopardise safety in Nigeria’s north.