Bishop Moses Chikwe
Even as the government and its apologists in Nigeria continue to tackle the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto diocese, Most Revd Matthew Hassan Kukah over his Christmas message which indicts President Muhammadu Buhari poor leadership style, gunmen on Sunday, December 27 kidnapped a Catholic bishop in Owerri, Imo state, Southeast Nigeria.
Bishop Moses Chikwe is the auxiliary bishop of Owerri Archdiocese. He was reportedly kidnapped in the night of Sunday 27 December 2020,” according to statement issued by the secretary general of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), Fr. Zacharia Nyantiso Samjumi.
“Up to this moment, there has been no communication from the kidnappers,” Fr. Nyantiso Samjumi said in a press release.
“Trusting in the maternal assistance of Blessed Virgin Mary, we pray for his safety and quick release,” the secretary general added a press release circulated under the headline: “SAD EVENT FROM OWERRI.”
According to reports, Bishop Chikwe was violently seized by armed men at about, 6.30pm Sunday evening after officiating at at a Church programme at Annunciation Parish, World Bank, New Owerri Capital Territory, Imo state.
They originally seized him and his driver, Mr. Ndubisi Robert, in his car. He was fully dressed in his episcopal regalia as a Bishop when he was forcefully taken so there is no case of mistaken identity .
In a statement issued on behalf of the Archbishop of Owerri, His Grace, Most Rev. Anthony J.V Obinna, it reads, "As at this morning (December 29), the Cathedral has reported that the dare devil men returned his
Vehicle, his skull cap and ruffled Bishop's robes with some expended bullets and some emptied sachets of consumed hot drinks littered in his Vehicle which they parked somewhere around the Cathedral."
Nigeria President, Gen. Buhari
The whereabout of the 53-year-old Bishop Chikwe has remain unknown.
“I spoke with the Archbishop (Anthony Obinna) yesterday evening and asked him to let me know if any new thing occurs. Nothing yet,” one of the Nigerian bishops told reporters.
The police in Imo state say they are following the lead through its anti-kidnapping police unit.
Bishop Chikwe’s abduction is the latest in a series of kidnappings that have targeted clergy in Nigeria, but previous abductions have involved priests and seminarians, not bishops.
On Dec. 15, Fr. Valentine Oluchukwu Ezeagu, a member of the Sons of Mary Mother of Mercy (SMMM) was kidnapped in Imo State en route to his father’s funeral in the neighboring Anambra State, in southeastern Nigeria. He was “unconditionally released” the following day.
Last month, Fr. Matthew Dajo, a Nigerian priest of the Archdiocese of Abuja, was kidnapped and released after ten days in captivity. Multiple sources spoke about negotiations for ransom following Fr. Dajo’s Nov. 22 kidnapping. Some sources say abductors’ demand for hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars for his release.
Earlier this month, the U.S. State Department listed Nigeria among the worst countries for religious freedom, describing the West African nation as a “country of particular concern (CPC).” This is a formal designation reserved for nations where the worst violations of religious freedom are taking place, the other countries being China, North Korea, and Saudi Arabia.
The action by the U.S. State Department was lauded by the leadership of Knights of Columbus, with the Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, Carl Anderson saying December 16, "Nigeria's Christians have suffered grievously at the hands of Boko Haram and other groups."
The murders and kidnappings of Christians in Nigeria now “verge on genocide,” Anderson added.
“The Christians of Nigeria, both Catholic and Protestant, deserve attention, recognition and relief now,” Anderson further said, adding, “Nigeria's Christians should be able to live in peace and practice their faith without fear."
Bishop Hassan Kukah
According to a special report released by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) in March, “no fewer than 20 clergymen including at least eight Catholic Priests/Seminarians were hacked to death in the past 57 months and not less than 50 abducted or kidnapped.”
Catholic bishops in Nigeria, which is Africa’s most populous nation, have repeatedly called on President Muhammadu Buhari-led government to put in place strict measures to protect her citizens.
“It is just unimaginable and inconceivable to celebrate Nigeria at 60 when our roads are not safe; our people are kidnapped, and they sell their properties to pay ransom to criminals,” Catholic Bishops in Nigeria said in a collective statement on October 1.
In his Christmas day message to Nigerians, the fiery Bishop of Sokoto diocese, Most Revd. Matthew Hassan Kukah took a swipe at what he called the "nepotistic" style of leadership of Muhannadu Buhari which had polarized the country along tribal and religious cleavages.
"There is no way a non-Northern Muslim President could have done a fraction of what President Buhari has done by his nepotism and got away with it. There would have been a military coup a long time ago or we would have been at war," Bishop Kukah said.
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