The gruesome attack on Catholic priests in Nigeria has reached an alarming state where no priest in this country feels safe. Kidnappers have turned their guns against the unarmed priests in Nigeria. In this year, 2025 alone, about 5 Catholic priests and two religious sisters have been kidnapped; some were released, while those who were unlucky were killed gruesomely. 

A Catholic priest was kidnapped and killed in Nigeria's Northern Kaduna state, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) announced recently, adding that the murder highlighted insecurity in a region where armed groups have continued to target civilians. Reverend Father Sylvester Okechukwu, a priest at a parish in Kaura, about 200 km from the Kaduna State Capital, was first abducted from his residence earlier in the week before being killed by unknown abductors, CAN said in a statement. Kaduna.

In the same vein, it was reported that in Auchi Diocese, a priest and a seminarian were kidnapped. Rev. Fr. Philip Ekweli and a major seminarian have been abducted in Nigeria’s Auchi Diocese, Edo State. In a statement shared by the diocese’s communications director, the priest and the seminarian were violently attacked by gunmen. Doors and windows in both the rectory and the church were broken, accompanied by gunshots.

The diocesan spokesperson further said local vigilantes confronted the kidnappers in a gunfight; however, the abductors’ superior firepower enabled them to seize Fr. Ekweli and the major seminarian. During the attack, one of the kidnappers was killed by the protection officers of the Catholic Church, who opened fire on the criminals. Despite the intervention of the protection team, the priest and the seminarian were captured and dragged into the woods. The local police has confirmed the news, stating that a joint search and rescue operation is underway to rescue the victims and capture the kidnappers, involving personnel from the 195th Battalion of the Nigerian Army, police officers, vigilantes, and local hunters.

In a similar report, Fr. Matthew David Dutsemi of the Diocese of Yola, Adamawa State (Eastern Nigeria), and Fr. Abraham Saummam of the Diocese of Jalingo, Taraba State (Eastern Nigeria, south of Adamawa State), who were abducted on 22 February, are still in the hands of their captors. Selfless servants in the Lord’s vineyard are being murdered in cold blood for a reason nobody can tell. Priests who are working selflessly in the vineyard of the Lord, spreading the message of peace, love, and hope, are now being subjected to barbaric acts.

Priests are always available and accessible to their parishioners, but this untimely death has left an indelible void within the Catholic family, and we all share in the pain of their passing within this family, friends, and all those who knew and loved them. The motive behind the killing is unknown.

News reaching Christendom is that the Nigerian Police Command has launched a search for the perpetrators. These heinous crimes further highlight the alarming insecurity in our nation, where innocent citizens, including clergy members, are repeatedly targeted, abducted, and killed with impunity. The United States Embassy in Nigeria, in a post, described the abduction and killing as “a horrific act of violence” and called on Nigerian authorities to bring those responsible to justice.

Insecurity is rife in Nigeria, with Christians complaining about discrimination and persecution in many parts of the country, especially in the North. Besides the interreligious tension, criminal gangs have taken to kidnapping citizens who are then held for ransom. The Catholic authorities in Nigeria called for prayers for the repose of Fr. Sylvester and also appealed to the government to increase security and put an end to the climate of fear that reigns in many parts of the country. Besides Fr. Sylvester, who was now killed, and Fathers Matthew David Dutsemi and Abraham Saummam, who are still missing, the remaining four were lucky to be released alive. What could be responsible for these ungodly acts can only be explained by those perpetrating the evils.

My worry about these ungodly incidents in Nigeria is that the government is not saying anything meaningful to assure the citizens that they are in safe hands. The situation is becoming unbearable, and people are just keeping quiet as if everything is normal. That is what I fear the most: that moment when the government or the situation in the country will bring us to the point where abnormalities will become normal, a situation where we no longer feel rage or anger over what should ordinarily get us mad, and the point where we get so used to the evil that it no longer makes a headline. That is what scares me the most. That is the greatest evil a government or a country can do to the mind-set of its people. We must fight such a mind-set because it is dangerous.

Ordinarily, by now, bishops, priests, pastors, parishioners, Christians, Muslims, and many great people of the country would have come out in large numbers, and everywhere would have stood still until the whole world and even the killers began to feel it. But guess the level we are now? We have gotten to the point where we now feel almost defeated, and this is because some frequent kidnappings and killings have almost become normal. I am trying to remind us that IT IS NOT NORMAL; LET US RESIST SUCH A MINDSET.

Fr. Sylvester Okechukwu has died; we have typed RIP and quickly go back to what we were doing until we hear about the killing of another, and we will repeat the same thing... Then, one day, it may get to our turn to stand face-to-face before death; the reality is that it could be any one of us, regardless of tribe or position, who will hit hard, but by then, it may be too late. Let us unite and destroy this monster before it destroys us.

Can all hands be on deck to fight this evil monster? It is no gainsaying that Nigeria is too big for the security operatives to cover. Security should be taken seriously by the government. The Chief Security Officer or the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces is the President. Can the President wage war against kidnapping and murder in this country? Nobody bargained for this when we were going to the polls to vote or elect our leaders. Economically, kidnapping and banditry will affect and scare away foreign investors. Business cannot thrive in a land full of apprehension and insecurity to lives and property. The government should do something fast and urgent to bring perpetrators to book.

God Bless Nigeria!!!