Nigeria: Priest abducted in the Archdiocese of Kaduna
The west African nation has been classified as suffering from severe, systematic and ongoing religious freedom violations.
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has received an official communication from the Archdiocese of Kaduna, Nigeria, reporting the abduction of a priest following a violent attack on the community of Kushe Gugdu in the Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
In the early hours of Monday, 17 November, armed assailants attacked the residence of Fr. Bobbo Paschal, parish priest of the St Stephen Parish, and abducted him. According to the archdiocese, in the same assault the militants killed the brother of another priest, Fr. Anthony Yero, and kidnapped many other individuals. The archdiocese has not reported any other fatalities at this time.
Church authorities are urgently calling on all people of goodwill to join in prayer for the safety and swift release of Fr. Bobbo Paschal and all those abducted, and for the peaceful repose of the deceased.
ACN expresses deep concern over this latest act of violence targeting Christian communities and clergy in Nigeria and remains in close contact with the local Church as the situation develops.
Nigeria remains in a state of acute crisis: the lack of security derives from a combination of criminality and intercommunal violence as well as organised terrorism and discrimination specifically targeting Christian communities. According to the 2025 Aid to the Church in Need Religious Freedom Report, Nigeria has been classified as “under persecution”, indicating that it faces severe, systematic and ongoing religious freedom violations. Armed extremist organisations — such as Boko Haram and Islamic State-West Africa Province (ISWAP) — continue to operate in the northeast. In the Middle Belt, violence has escalated, with churches burned and worshippers killed.
On 31 October 2025, the United States government announced the redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act. This decision follows mounting reports of escalating violence and the Nigerian government’s continued inability to safeguard religious minorities, particularly Christian communities, from targeted attacks and persecution.
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