AFRICA/NIGERIA - Assault on the airport in Kaduna, capital of the homonymous State where two priests have been kidnapped in recent weeks

Monday, 28 March 2022 banditry violence persecutions kidnappings

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Abuja (Agenzia Fides) - "Citizens of the State of Kaduna are tired of the government's rhetorical responses without concrete actions taken to protect lives and property", says the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN, a body that brings together the country's main Christian denominations) in Kaduna, the State in northern Nigeria, where in recent weeks episodes of violence have multiplied, including the kidnapping of two Catholic priests. The first, Fr Joseph Akete Bako, parish priest of the Catholic Church of St. John, in Kudenda, in the area of the local government of Kaduna South, was kidnapped on the night of March 8 in an assault on the parish house during which one person was killed (see Fides, 9/3/2022); the second, Fr. Felix Zakari Fidson , from the Diocese of Zaria, was kidnapped on March 24 (see Fides, 25/3/2022). "The chapter in the State of Kaduna of the Christian Association of Nigeria is sad and in mourning for the continuous episodes of assassinations, kidnappings, banditry committed in our State without any substantial action by the government and the security forces", denounces the president of CAN of Kaduna, Pastor John Joseph Hayab, who recalled that "our State has lost several lives in the last four years, while politicians barely show empathy or concern for the victims. Unfortunately, the dead cannot read or hear the news". The last serious episode dates back to Saturday, March 26 when a heavily armed group riding motorcycles stormed in the airport in Kaduna.
The attack was repelled by the security forces but an airport employee was killed.
On the night of March 25, 50 people were killed and more than 100 kidnapped in the assault on nine villages in the Giwa area. Terrorists razed several houses and a church, raided cattle and burned almost 30 vehicles. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 28/3/2022)