
Freed Nigerian Priest Recounts Details of His Kidnapping by Insurgents
Father Ojapah, 38, was kidnapped along with Father Oliver Oparah, his assistant; and Hassan Fareed Hassan, his sister, and mother.
Father Ojapah, 38, was kidnapped along with Father Oliver Oparah, his assistant; and Hassan Fareed Hassan, his sister, and mother.
The priest of the Diocese of Makurdi, who was ordained in 1981, said he finds it baffling that none of the atrocities that have been meted against Christians in Nigeria had been dealt with in courts.
The funeral Mass of Father Cheitnum is scheduled for July 21 at Kafanchan’s Cathedral of St. Peter.
A March 28 news report said that 44 villagers were also kidnapped during the two-day attack.
Pope Francis said that he was praying for victims of the attacks, in an appeal made at the end of his general audience on Sept. 28.
Nigeria has been experiencing insecurity since 2009 when the Boko Haram insurgency began with the aim of turning the country into an Islamic state.
The Sokoto Diocese said June 3 that Father Keke, 75, is receiving medical treatment.
Father Alphonsus Bello was found dead May 21. He was 33.
The West African nation has faced growing insecurity since 2009 when the Islamist group Boko Haram launched an insurgency.
The kidnapping is the latest in a series of abductions and killings in Nigeria which have involved Catholics and other Christians; clergy, seminarians, and lay people.
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