Nigeria: Kidnapped priest rescued by security forces

Fr Alphonsus Afina. Screenshot

Source: Fides

Father Alphonsus Afina, who was kidnapped on June 1, has been released thanks to an operation by security forces.

The priest was rescued yesterday, July 21, along with ten women who were also held hostage, during a joint operation by the Department of State Services (DSS, the internal intelligence service under the Federal Presidency) and the Nigerian army, carried out in Borno State, in northeastern Nigeria.

"We are deeply grateful for the professionalism and courage demonstrated by the DSS and the Nigerian army," said Mgr John Bogna Bakeni, Auxiliary Bishop of Maiduguri (capital of Borno State). "The safe return of Father Afina after nearly two months of captivity is a testament to the commitment of our security agencies."

Father Afina was kidnapped on the evening of Sunday, June 1, near Gwoza while returning to Maiduguri after celebrating Mass. Bishop Bakeni recalled that the priest was traveling from Mubi, in Adamawa State, to Maiduguri when an armed group ambushed his convoy near a military checkpoint. The attackers fired shots and threw a grenade at one of the vehicles, killing one passenger and taking the others hostage.

The Gwoza area is unsafe due to the presence of Boko Haram's two main factions: Jama'tu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad (JAS) and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), which has joined the Islamic State as its "West Africa Province".

The news of Father Afina's kidnapping caused great shock in the US diocese of Fairbanks, Alaska, where the priest had served for six and a half years in the villages of the Seward Peninsula, from 2017 to 2024.

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Nigeria: Bishop calls for prayers for kidnapped priest: www.indcatholicnews.com/news/52546