Terrorists kidnapped the Catholic parish priest of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Fr. Leo Raphael Ozigi, in Sarkin Pawa of Niger state, along with 44 other villagers.
The secretary of the Niger State Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Raphael Opawoye, gave some details about the incident.
“The very reverend Dr. Leo Raphael Ozigi was kidnapped on Sunday as he was returning to Gwada from Sarkin Pawa after Sunday Mass,” Opawoye said in the NCN report saying Fulani herdsmen were behind the kidnapping in which they were taken to 44 other people.
In a March 28 report by Sahara reporters, a resident in the area identified as Shehu Abubakar was quoted as saying: “The other 44 villagers who were kidnapped had just returned to their communities from IDP camps. its acronym in English) on Saturday.
“The bandits moved freely along the road from Sarkin Pawa to Gwada without being questioned,” Abubakar recounted. “We are worried because it seems that our problem is not over yet. People have just started coming back on Saturday to prepare for yam planting,” he added.
“The government encouraged us to return to our communities, that there were going to be security arrangements. People began to return on Saturday and these criminals invaded us again, ”he lamented.
Nigeria has been insecure since 2009 when the Boko Haram insurgency began with the aim of turning the country into an Islamic state.