Gunmen have abducted three Catholic nuns and a seminarian in Nigeria’s South-east.
The hoodlums abducted the victims on 5 October while they were heading to Imo State for a burial.
Gloria Nnamchi, the vicar-general of the Missionary Daughters of Mater Ecclesiae in Nigeria confirmed the incident in a short note, according to a post on the official Facebook page of the Catholic Broadcast Commission of Nigeria.
Ms Nnamchi, a Catholic nun, said the hoodlums also abducted the driver of the car.
The vicar-general gave the names of the three abducted nuns as Rosemary Ejiowokeoghere, Maria Okoye and Josephine Chinyekwuo.
The name of the abducted seminarian is Peter Eyakeno, while the driver is Emmanuel Awoke.
She said the victims were serving at the Catholic Diocese of Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, another state in the South-east.
The abductors have contacted the missionary organisation, and have asked for a ransom, she said.
She appealed to Catholic faithful to pray for the “safe release” of the victims.
A Catholic priest in Abakaliki, who asked not to be named, told PREMIUM TIMES, Thursday morning that the diocese had been troubled by the incident.
“The ransom I was told they are demanding is heavy,” the cleric said, without mentioning the amount.
The police spokesperson in Imo State, Henry Okoye, did not respond to calls and a text message seeking his comments.
Not the first time
Communities in Nigeria’s South-east have witnessed increased cases of abduction lately.
Catholic clerics have become targets of such attacks in recent times
Earlier this month, gunmen abducted a Catholic priest and three others in Anambra State. The victims were later rescued by the police in the state.
Another Catholic priest, Stanislaus Mbamara, was abducted in June while he was returning from Awka, the state capital, to Nnewi.
He was released about two days later after a ransom was reportedly paid to his abductors.
Last month, gunmen abducted Marcellinus Okide, another Catholic priest alongside six others in Enugu State.
Mr Okide was released four days later, but the fate of the six others abducted with him remains unknown.
Gunmen, in May, abducted Jude Maduka, another Catholic priest, while he was inspecting his adoration site in Ogii, a community in Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State.
He was released by his abductors, two days after.
In August 2022, four reverend sisters of the Catholic Church were kidnapped along Okigwe- Umulolo Road in Okigwe Local Government Area of Abia State.
They were released, days later.
Within the same period, gunmen abducted a catholic priest and a seminarian along Okigwe-Umunneochi Road, the boundary between Imo and Abia States.
The victims were released two days later after reportedly paying a ransom to their abductors.
Culled from Premium Times
