AFRICA/NIGERIA - The serious security situation in Imo State also affects priests and religious

Abuja (Agenzia Fides) - “The situation is dire. Kidnappings for ransom, abductions for organ harvesting, and violent invasions of people’s lands and farms are now commonplace across Imo State and Igbo land”, said Father Anthony Njoku in the Cathedral of Owerri during a press conference he called to discuss the insecurity in Imo State, in southeastern Nigeria. “These horrors are no longer distant headlines; they are personal. Our priests and faithful parishioners have suffered terribly, and the pain continues to spread,” the priest said during the press conference, which was also attended by Msgr. Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, Archbishop of Owerri, and Archbishop Emeritus Anthony John Valentine Obinna. The climate of insecurity has also severely affected the local clergy, particularly as victims of kidnapping for extortion, as Father Njoku points out: "While we have an innumerable number of people, who have fallen victim in the past 10 years, between 2015 and 2025, there are more than 50 clergy and religious victims of this horrendous situation from Ahiara, Okigwe, Orlu and Owerri dioceses, with Okigwe recording the highest of 47 priest victims, and two deaths from Owerri and Orlu, respectively, all in Imo State alone". They are Father Cyriacus Onunkwo, who was kidnapped and killed on September 1, 2017, in Orlu, the second largest city in Imo State (see Fides, 4/9/2017), and Father Tobias Chukwujekwu Okonkwo, who was shot dead on December 26, 2024, while traveling on the Onitsha-Owerri Expressway in Ihiala (see Fides, 31/12/2024). "The perpetrators, often identified as Fulani herdsmen, strike with increasing boldness and cruelty. This is a nightmare no one should endure, let alone our people", said the priest, who called on local authorities to improve security conditions in the region. "Sadly, our security forces appear helpless. Whether due to a lack of equipment, insufficient capacity, or the absence of political will, they have failed to stem the tide of this evil. Their apparent paralysis in the face of widespread violence is deeply troubling", he concluded. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 5/5/2025)

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kidnappings

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missionaries killed

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local churches

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violence

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