Catechist, pregnant wife among kidnapped in latest anti-Christian attacks in Nigeria

(OSV News) -- Several gunmen abducted 32 people in Nigeria's Kaduna state, including a catechist and his pregnant wife, in an attack that has increased fears of Christians in the country who have been targeted over several weeks.

The attack is the latest in a wave of anti-Christian violence that prompted the country's Catholic bishops to label the country a "slaughterhouse" and sparked protests by clergy demanding government intervention.

According to Fides, the Vatican's missionary news agency, an armed group raided two villages -- Kutaho and Kugir -- some of whom were members of the local parish of St. Joseph.

Speaking to local media, Father Linus Matthew Bobai, the parish priest, said the gunmen called a parishioner before the attack "and demanded 10 million naira ($7,375), threatening to kidnap him if he did not comply," Fides reported.

The priest said the attack has left people in the area in a state of fear, with 98% of its residents fleeing to a neighboring village. However, he noted, some residents who work as shepherds stayed to support their community.

"Some of us are afraid, but we cannot run away because we are shepherds. And we encourage others to stay, to care for the community, and to trust in God's faithfulness," Father Bobai said, according to Fides.

The kidnapping occurred just three days after a similar attack in Kaduna state left three people dead and 11 kidnapped when gunmen stormed Holy Trinity Church in Karku. A priest, Father Nathaniel Asuwaye, was among those kidnapped, Fides reported.

On Feb. 6, in the northern Nigerian state of Benue, nine Catholics were kidnapped while attending a prayer vigil at the St. John of the Cross mission station, the Diocese of Otukpo said in a statement to Fides.

The string of anti-Christian attacks and kidnappings in the country has led the clergy in the eastern Nigerian dioceses of Wukari and Jalingo to march on the streets Feb. 12 and demand that the government do more to protect Christians.

"More than 80 people have been killed so far, many more have been injured, while over 200 communities and churches have been destroyed and over 90,000 Christians have been forced to flee their homes," Father James Yaro, apostolic vicar of the Diocese of Wukari, said in an interview with Fides. The continued attacks by local militias, he added, were "a genocide against Christians."

The protest coincided with a recent statement by the country's bishops that expressed "profound outrage and sorrow at the ongoing assault on human life and dignity."

Titled "The Cry of the Innocent: Stop this Slaughterhouse in Nigeria," the message was published Feb. 7 by the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, or CSN, the administrative arm of the Nigerian bishops' conference.

Signed by Fathers Michael Banjo and Michael Nsikak Umoh, the CSN secretary general and national director of social communications, respectively, the statement said that despite "repeated complaints and unfulfilled promises," unchecked violence persists in the country.

"The recurring carnage has become a stain on the conscience of our nation," the message read. "Silence in the face of such horror as we now have in Nigeria can hardly escape being labelled as complicit."

The CSN criticized the Nigerian government for its continued treatment of the right to life "as optional," and called on authorities to deploy security forces to defend areas "where citizens are under siege."

"We cannot allow mass graves to define our national story," it said.

The anti-Christian attacks in the country also drew the attention of Pope Leo XIV. In his Sunday Angelus address Feb. 8, the pope expressed his "sorrow and concern" over the attacks.

"I express my prayerful closeness to all the victims of violence and terrorism," the pope said. "I likewise hope that the competent authorities will continue to work with determination to ensure the safety and protection of the life of every citizen."