Nigerian authorities are searching for four seminarians, aged 18-23, who were abducted from Good Shepherd Seminary, in Kaduna, on Wednesday night. Although the captors have been in contact with the young men’s families, there have been no demands made for their release.
Catholic News Agency reports that Pius Kanwai, 19; Peter Umenukor, 23; Stephen Amos, 23; and Michael Nnadi, 18, were taken prisoner after a group of armed assailents broke into the seminary grounds at around 10:30 on January 8. The gunmen, who were said to have been in military camouflage, opened fire in sporadic intervals, but did not hit anyone. Along with the four students, the group reportedly stole laptops and phones.
The perpetrators have yet to be identified and have made no demands for ransom. It has been nearly a week since the abduction, but there has been no further development.
Thomas Heine-Geldern, executive president of ACN International, made a statement on January 13, which decried the government’s failure to protect its citizens. He noted similarities between the current social climate in Nigeria and that of Iraq just prior to the rise of ISIS. He said:
“Already at that stage, Christians were being abducted, robbed and murdered because there was no protection by the state. This must not be allowed to happen to the Christians of Nigeria. The government must act now, before it is too late.”
While the fate of these four seminarians is yet unknown, it is possible that they will be released. At the end of 2019, a Nigerian priest was abducted and released within two days.
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