{"id":106749,"date":"2023-08-03T19:49:54","date_gmt":"2023-08-03T18:49:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=106749"},"modified":"2023-08-03T19:49:54","modified_gmt":"2023-08-03T18:49:54","slug":"gunmen-kidnap-two-catholic-priests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/gunmen-kidnap-two-catholic-priests\/","title":{"rendered":"Gunmen Kidnap Two Catholic Priests"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"m#msg-f:1773231109068649471\" class=\"mail-message expanded\">\n<div class=\"mail-message-header spacer\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">Two priests of St Luke\u2019s Catholic Church, Gyedna, Garam Ward in Tafa Local Government Area of Niger State, Fr Paul Sanogo and Seminarian Melchior have been reportedly abducted by gunmen suspected to be bandits.<\/div>\n<div class=\"mail-message-content collapsible zoom-normal mail-show-images \" style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<div class=\"clear\">\n<div dir=\"auto\">\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Pointblanknews.com gathered that the priests were kidnapped in the early hours of Thursday at their residence in Gyedna.<\/p>\n<p>Residents said the kidnappers shot into the air for over an hour before they whisked away the two priests.<\/p>\n<p>The Catholic Bishop of Minna, Most Rev Dr Martin Igwe Uzoukwu in a message he sent to church members and shared with our correspondent said the two priests were pastoral workers at St Luke\u2019s Catholic Church Gyedna.<\/p>\n<p>Part of the message read: \u201cOn behalf of my Auxiliary Most Rev Sylvester Luka Gopep, the Priests and Religious of the Catholic Diocese of Minna, I request for your prayers for Fr Paul Sanogo (M.Afr) and Seminarian Melchior who were kidnapped by bandits in the early hours of August 3, 2023 at the priest residence at Gyedna, Niger State.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFr Paul Sanogo (M.Afr) and Seminarian Melchior are pastoral workers serving at St Luke\u2019s Catholic Church Gyedna, Niger State. We pray the Lord hears our prayers and bring them back in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When contacted, the Niger State Police Command Spokesperson, SP Wasiu Abiodun confirmed the incident.<\/p>\n<p>He said police tactical teams led by the DPO of Tafa Division had been dispatched to the scene.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHowever, the location of the church was discovered to be on the outskirt of the town, which is about an hour drive from Sabon-Wuse, and surrounded with mountains and forest, close to Kagarko are of Kaduna state.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMeanwhile, other seminarians therein have been advised to relocate temporarily while investigation into the incident is ongoing with a view to rescuing the victims and arrest the perpetrators of the crime,\u201d he said.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mail-message-footer spacer collapsible\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two priests of St Luke\u2019s Catholic Church, Gyedna, Garam Ward in Tafa Local Government Area of Niger State, Fr Paul Sanogo and Seminarian Melchior have been reportedly abducted by gunmen&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":101474,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - 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