02/07/2020 Nigeria (International Christian Concern) – Nigerian Christians are mourning the death of 18-year-old seminarian, Michael Nnadi, who was kidnapped along with three others studying at Good Shepherd Seminary in Kaduna.
The three other seminarians, Pius Kanwai, Peter Umenukor and Stephen Amos, were released near the end of January. One of them was found along the side of Kaduna-Abuja Highway badly injured. It was on this same highway that Nnadi’s body was found. This stretch of road has been marked as an “unspeakable nightmare for Nigerians” with bandits and kidnappers roaming the region.
Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah announced in a statement, “with a very heavy heart, I wish to inform you that our dear son, Nnadi was murdered by the bandits on a date we cannot confirm. He and the wife of a doctor were arbitrarily separated from the group and killed.”
The woman with whom he was found, Bola Ataga, was kidnapped from her home in Kaduna along with her two children on January 24. After her body was found, her children’s whereabouts remained unknown but the ransom being demanded has reportedly been lowered. Ataga’s family was unable to pay the original ransom demanded.
Nnadi’s father, Joel Usman, has called on believers to pray for the “great distress” they are facing in Nigeria in a recent Facebook post. Archbishop of Lagos, Alfred Martins “For a while now, many Nigerians from different walks of life have been calling for a revamping of the security arrangements in the nation even if it means the replacement of the Heads of the various Security Agencies in order to give room for new ideas”.
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