- Over five abducted in just three months
The state of security in Nigeria has become a huge concern for everyone in the country. Almost on daily basis, we witness cases of kidnap, armed robbery, phone/vehicle snatching and in some cases illegal criminal activities orchestrated by Law enforcement agents who are supposed to be custodians of the law.
However, a new development that has become worrisome is the rising case of Priests abductions across the country with a terrifying rate in Enugu State.
This has become a source of concern for residents of Enugu State considering the fact that the state has for decades, prided itself as one of the relatively peaceful states in the South east. Also, Enugu has earned one of the states with low crime rate in the Nigeria.
According to the last Statistics of crime in the country as provided by the Nigerian Police Force, verified and validated by the National Bureau of Statistics in 2017, Enugu was ranked 15th position in the country and fourth among the five South Eastern states in reported cases of crime with 1,729 reported crimes.
The two recent kidnappings of priests in the state have set an alarm bell across the state on the strange reality that has engulfed the state. The kidnap and gruesome murder of Rev. Fr. Clement Ugwu has continued to haunt the spirit of not only Catholics in the state, but has sent shivers down the spine of the people of the state over the rising case of insecurity in the state. His abduction came at the same time when, Rev. Fr. Lazarus Ekwueme of Nsukka Diocese was also kidnapped. Though Rev Fr. Lazarus of Nsukka eventually regained his freedom and the culprits apprehended, there has arisen a wide feeling of insecurity in the state.
The rising insecurity, perhaps, has made many to consider the trueness of what Bishop Callistus Onaga described as migration of criminals from Anambra to Enugu, thereby increasing the long list of criminals marauding the streets of the state.
His Lordship while speaking out of concern on the sudden upsurge in criminal activities in the state expressed fear, perhaps, that there is an influx of criminals running away from the heat of a security manhunt on them from Anambra to Enugu to unleash mayhem on the people of the state. His Lordship was speaking against the backdrop of what he described as lackadaisical, the attitude of The Police and other state security outfits in the state. This, according to His Lordship, is obvious in the case of the kidnapping and gruesome murder of Fr. Clement, whose abductors and killers up until now, have not been apprehended.
Kidnapping in Enugu state has been alien but until recently, what used to be alien in Enugu State has started making wave. The state has been in the news for the wrong reasons as far as security is concerned in the state. Crimes against these men of God is as worrisome as those meted out on lay people but more worrisome is the daring nature of the new criminal strategy employed by these unscrupulous characters which seemingly has made Priests their new target.
In December 2018, Two Catholic priests were kidnapped by unknown gunmen at Nneyi Umeri area of Anambra State.
According to NAN, the clerics were kidnapped while on their way back from Onitsha on Monday evening. A source who disclosed news of the kidnap, noted that the priests were serving in Umueze Anam in Anambra West Local Government Area of the state, and were on their way back to prepare for the visit of Cardinal Francis Arinze to the town, when they were abducted by the hoodlums.
“The priests are working at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Umueze Anam, and were kidnapped at Nneyi village, Umuleri area at about 7:30pm on Monday,” he said.
Haruna Muhammed, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, confirmed the incident, stating that a patrol team attached to Otuocha Division recovered a light grey Toyota Corolla car marked FST 689 FL, which was abandoned on the Nneyi Umueri road.
According to Muhammed, investigation revealed that the car belonged to a priest allegedly kidnapped by yet-to-be-identified gunmen. He also added that the Police made efforts to rescue the victims.
The Enugu State Police Command announced recently of her arrest of four Fulani herdsmen for allegedly kidnapping, Rev Fr Lazarus Ekwueme of the Diocese of Nsukka.
Fr. Ekwueme was kidnapped on March 11, 2019, by a seven-man gang said to be operating along the Enugu-Nsukka Road.
However, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Suleiman Balarabe, while confirming the suspects arrest, said, “The command did not sit back and relax; we immediately put everything available in motion to track down the suspects and this yielded results as four persons were arrested in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
“The items recovered from them included one AK-47 rifle, one submachine gun, one pump-action rifle and one beretta pistol.”The CP added that the suspects were already helping the police in their investigation.
Just after that, Rev. Fr. John Bako Shekwolo of Catholic Diocese of Kaduna was also kidnapped in his home village.
According to Fides News Agency, Fr. John Bako Shekwolo was kidnapped on March 25 in his home in the village of Ankuwai, in the state of Kaduna, in central – northern Nigeria.
The kidnapping was confirmed by the Chancellor, Archdiocese of Kaduna, Reverend Father Daniel J. Kyomm: “We regret to announce that one of our priests, Rev. Fr. John Bako Shekwolo has been kidnapped by unknown persons. As we ask for the prayers of the faithful of our Archdiocese and beyond for the quick release of Fr. Shekwolo, we appeal to the consciences of those who abducted him to kindly release him unharmed.”
The local police are doing their best to release Fr. Shekwolo, who is the parish priest of the church of St. Teresa of Ankuwa, Fides reported. The kidnapping of the Catholic priest was condemned by the Christian Association of Nigeria – CAN, which brings together the various Christian confessions in the Country, with a statement of its president, Reverend John Joseph Hayab:
“CAN condemns the abduction of Fr. Bako in its entirety. While we note that kidnapping in Kaduna State has become a big business, we appeal to the kidnappers to kindly release Bako unhurt. It is sad that Kaduna State has become the center of kidnapping with the government doing almost nothing to stop it. This shows there is governance failure, as far as security of lives and property is concerned. Government and security agencies must wake up to their responsibilities of protecting lives and property, which is the essence of government.”
Balarabe added that the police had received vital information that would help in tracking down the fleeing killers of the Parish Priest of St. Mark’s Catholic Church, Obinagu, Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State, Rev Fr. Clement Ugwu, who was kidnapped on March 13, 2019 and his corpse was found in a bush one week after.
As the entire Catholic Faithful awaits the outcome of the ongoing investigation on the gruesome murder of Late Fr. Clement and the eventual capture of the suspects, there remains a need for those in charge of securing our land to rise to the occasion and take control of the system. The many questions that has remained unanswered is ‘how this unscrupulous beings have continued to perpetuate this crime with almost little or no resistance by law enforcement agents?’
As Nigerians seek for more solution on the increasing insecurity in the country, many believe that the government of the day can do more by giving matching others to the police and the intelligence community in the country to do more than what is being done, after all, the perpetrators are not strangers because they reside and interact with us
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