Priest kidnapped in Nigeria after saving two seminarians

Kidnapping for ransom has become an industry in Nigeria, and priests are often targeted.  

On Sunday, October 27th, a priest was kidnapped at the minor seminary where he worked and was taken by armed bandits into bushes.  

Armed gunmen broke into the Immaculate Conception Minor Seminary, in the Diocese of Auchi, Edo State, Nigeria, at around 7:00 P.M. and fired shots into the air, causing panic among students and staff, according to a diocesan statement sent to Aid to the Church in Need.  

The bandits made their way to the courtyard of the minor seminary and abducted two students, who they intended to take as hostages. However, upon hearing the confusion, Father Thomas Oyode, the rector of the minor seminary, went out and bravely confronted the bandits.  

Realizing that help would not arrive in time to prevent abduction, the priest offered himself in exchange for the boys. The bandits accepted and made their way back to the bushes with the priest in tow.  

The diocese initially published a statement explaining the facts, stating that all other students and staff at the seminary were well and had been moved to a safer location, but the criminals had not yet made contact with Church authorities. Meanwhile, the Nigerian press indicates, a ransom has already been requested for the release of Father Thomas.

Nigeria has become one of the most dangerous countries for priests in the world, as a combination of religious persecution and banditry has turned them into targets for kidnapping, which is now a criminal industry. 

The Auchi diocese is located in southern Nigeria, which is mostly Christian, meaning it is likely that the kidnappers were acting purely for financial gain, rather than motivated by anti-Christian bias, but there is little information in this regard.  

In 2023, a total of 25 priests, seminarians, and religious were kidnapped in Nigeria, one of whom was later killed. In the same year, another three priests were murdered in the country.

ACN asks friends and benefactors to keep the Nigerian priest, and all Nigerian Christians, in their prayers.