An Anglican priest who was kidnapped in northwest Nigeria last month has been killed in captivity. The Diocese of Kaduna confirmed that Venerable Edwin Achi, who was seized with his wife and daughter from their home in Kaduna state on October 28, was murdered after spending about a month in captivity.

In a statement, Archbishop Henry Ndakuba said the church was mourning “the tragic death of our beloved priest”, adding that Achi’s wife and daughter are still being held by the kidnappers. He’s urged security agencies to identify those behind the attacks and appealed for the immediate release of the priest’s family.

The church said gunmen had initially demanded 600 million naira (about £313,000) for Achi’s release before lowering the ransom to 200 million naira (£104,000), although negotiations failed.

The death of Ven Achi, who was Priest-in-Charge of Ebenezer Anglican Church, comes after a spate of abductions in Nigeria. In mid November, 25 mainly Christian students were abducted from a school in Kebbi state, with one of those escaping shortly afterwards. The remaining 24 have since been released. On 21 November more than 300 students and teachers were taken from St Mary’s Catholic School in Niger state. 250 of these remain unaccounted for, according to the Christian Association of Nigeria.

The country’s President Bola Tinubu has declared a national security emergency and ordered the recruitment of thousands of extra police to cope with the crisis.