Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Abuja (Agenzia Fides) – A Catholic priest, Fr. Pius Vii, was kidnapped by gunmen in Port Harcourt, in Rivers State (southern Nigeria). According to the local press, it seems that Fr. Pius was kidmapped shortly after having finished the religious functions at the Corpus Christi Cathedral in Port Harcourt. The kidnappers supposedly followed the priest in his car, later stopping it. No group has claimed responsibility for the act. A military spokesman has affirmed that all the security forces of the State have been placed on alert to track down the kidnapped priest.
Fr. Pius Kii was very well-known in Port Harcourt, as he served as President of the Universal Basic Education Board of Rivers State, and is currently the Assistant Pastor of the Church of Christ the King.
According to local sources, the kidnappers have demanded 20 million Niara (nearly 20,000 US dollars) as a ransom.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), which includes all the Christian denominations of Nigeria, has condemned the kidnapping of Fr. Kii and has called for his immediate release.
Archbishop John Onaiyekan of Abuja, President of CAN, has condemned the kidnapping of Fr. Kii, as well as that of others. “"If they can kidnap a priest, then really no-one is safe. They should realize they have made a grave mistake, fear God and release him,” he said.
The Association's spokesman, Fr. Ekiye Felix, has called the kidnapping a “morally outrageous” act, and has made an appeal to the government to take immediate political action that leads to job opportunities for unemployed youth, who otherwise can fall into crime.
He asked the Christians all over the world to pray for the youth of the Niger Delta, that they abandon the mistaken path and embrace the faith of God. According to him, “if those who kidnap knew God, they would detest such despicable acts.”
In the Niger Delta, hundreds of people have been kidnapped by gangs and by members of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), a group defending the rights of the area's inhabitants to benefit from the profits of local oil deposits. The MEND, however, often kidnaps those who work in the oil industry, normally freeing them after the payment of a ransom. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 27/1/2009)
