Gunmen have kidnapped Father Joseph Igweagu of the Catholic Archdiocese of Onitsha, in southern Nigeria, local media reported Monday.
The Onitsha Archdiocese has released a statement signed by the Archdiocesan Chancellor, Father Prudentius Emeja Aroh, announcing the abduction of the priest.
“It is with shock but strong faith in the love and protection of God that we announce to the priests, religious, lay faithful of Onitsha Archdiocese and all men and women of goodwill, the abduction of our priest, Rev. Fr. Joseph Igweagu, the Parish Priest of St. Joseph’s Parish, Abata, Nsugbe,” reads the statement, bearing the title “An Urgent Call for Sincere Prayer.”
Father Igweagu was abducted in the evening of Wednesday, October 12, 2022, while returning home after celebrating a funeral vigil Mass at Umunnachi in Njikoka Council area of Anambra state, the statement says.
“We solicit for sincere prayers for his unconditional release from the hands of his abductors,” it continues, adding that the archdiocese itself is doing “everything possible to secure his freedom.”
“While we pray for the conversion of his abductors, we call on our Mother Mary, the Undoer of knots, to intercede on his behalf so that he will be quickly released unhurt,” the statement concludes.
The archdiocese has not made public whether the priest’s abductors have demanded ransom for his release.
