The kidnappers of two Catholic priests who were abducted in Kaduna on Friday have demanded a huge ransom, according to the chairman of the state branch of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Rev John Joseph Hayab.
The two men – Rev John Mark Cheitnum and Rev Donatus Cleopas – were seized at gunpoint at a rectory in the village of Yadin Garu in Kaduna after having travelled there for a church event.
Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, Ayoku Yekini, told the BBC a rescue operation was under way with security forces ‘‘on the trail’’ of the kidnappers.
It is not yet clear who kidnapped the priests.
Rev Hayab said the local church could not afford the ransom being demanded. It was initially set at N50m naira ($120,000; £100,000), but had been negotiated down to N40m naira.
Since May, around a dozen Christian clerics – most of them Roman Catholics – have been abducted by gunmen across Nigeria.
At least two of them have been killed by their captors. Hostages are usually released after ransom payments.
Reverend Hayab decried the increasing spate of kidnappings of clerics saying the “kidnappers think Church leaders have a lot of money. That’s a wrong impression.”
He added that the priesthood is a work of “sacrifice” without big pay.
