Some armed men on Thursday kidnapped Mr. Kefas Ishaya, the Catechist of St. Monica Catholic Church, Ikulu-Pari, in Chawai Chiefdom of Kauru Local Government, Kaduna State, during an attack on the Church.
The criminals who appeared to have come for the parish priest, Rev Fr. Joseph Shekari took away the Catechist when they could not get his boss, the
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
Church members suspected that their target was funds realized from the annual Thanksgiving Service of the parish held on Sunday, January 16, 2023.
Fr. Shekari was abducted in similar circumstances in February 2022, and funds generated by the Church were stolen by his abductors.
Ikulu Zone chairman, Mr. Sunday Bage, told NAN that the abductors came “around 9.30 p.m.”
“Thank God Father (Reverend) traveled. They didn’t get him, but they picked our Catechist.
“They dragged the Catechist to the bush. They took him with his phone. We have been calling the line but it keeps ringing out,” he told NAN on phone.
He said that the invaders were many and shot sporadically, as they moved through the Church, the school, and the Priest’s residence searching for the priest.
Neighbors told NAN that the attackers scaled through the fence, and broke down the main door to the house with stones and bullets before they gained access into the priest's residence.
“Immediately they broke into the house, they searched and ransacked everywhere.
“They checked under the beds, wardrobes, bathrooms, and kitchen.
“They even checked the ceiling, but Father had traveled. So, they did not get him.
“In anger, they took our Catechist. As we speak, he is with them in the bush.
“It is a very sad situation. This is devastating. They dragged Catechist on the ground like a dog,” a visibly fear-stricken woman told NAN.
She recalled that not long ago, Fr Shekari was abducted and later rescued after “a huge ransom” was paid.
“They came again to take him. Luckily, he wasn’t in. This is a dark period for us,” she said.
Rev. Fr. Shekari was kidnapped in February 2022 and his cook, Sati Musa, a secondary school student was shot dead by the gunmen as he tried to protect the priest.
Reacting to the attack then, a Church elder, Mr. Yohanna Madaki noted that the abductors targeted the over N2 million raised from the annual thanksgiving service the same day.
Terrorism. Religion.
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