A Catholic priest, who was abducted on Friday evening in Anambra State, has been freed.
The cleric, Stanislaus Mbamara, a reverend father, was abducted while he was returning from Awka, the state capital, to Nnewi.
Mr Mbamara, who works with the Catholic Diocese of Nnewi, is also a student at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.
The Chancellor of the diocese, Raphael Ezeogu, announced the release of the cleric in a statement on Sunday night.
His release comes exactly two days after his abduction.
“With joy, Nnewi Diocese is announcing that today June 4, 2023, Rev. Fr. V Stanislaus Mbamara, kidnapped two days ago, has been liberated,” Mr Ezeogu, also a Catholic priest, said in the statement.
“We sincerely thank all who joined us in prayer for God’s intervention. Please join us in happily acknowledging God’s compassion once again palpably manifested,” he added.
The chancellor did not state how the cleric was released or whether ransom was paid. However, apart from deliberate killings by gunmen in Anambra and other states in the South-east, kidnapping for ransom is also rampant.
Communities in Nigeria’s south-east have witnessed increased cases of abduction lately.
Catholic clerics have become targets of such attacks in recent times.
In August 2022, four reverend sisters of the Catholic Church were kidnapped along Okigwe- Umulolo Road in Okigwe Local Government Area of Abia State.
They were released a few days later.
Within the same period, gunmen abducted a catholic priest and a seminarian along Okigwe-Umunneochi Road, the boundary between Imo and Abia states.
The victims were released two days later after reportedly paying a ransom to their abductors.
Gunmen, last month, abducted Jude Maduka, another Catholic priest, while he was inspecting his adoration site in Ogii, a community in Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State.
He was released by his abductors, two days after.
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