The charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) says it's extremely concerned after two nuns were abducted in a part of Nigeria not usually associated with violence against Christians.
Sisters Vincentia Nwankwo and Grace Okoli, were kidnapped on Tuesday in Anambra State in the south east of the country.
John Newton from ACN told Premier :
"It's not a state that we're used to dealing with here at Aid to the Church in Need, and it isn't a state where you generally see attacks on clergy, religious sisters or the church. So it's quite concerning to see that this has happened in the southeast.
"It's very unusual to happen in this region of Nigeria. We are sadly used to reporting incidents of persecution and abduction and worse in the northern part of the country and in the middle belt as well, where increasingly we've seen what appear to be radicalized groups attacking predominantly Christian settlements and displacing people in their hundreds of thousands, if not their millions, at any one time. But to see it move further south, that's not usual, and it is very worrying."
Sister Vincentia, the principal of Archbishop Charles Heerey Memorial Model Secondary School, Ufuma, and Sister Grace , a teacher at Immaculata Girls Model Secondary School, Nnewi, were seized on the Ufuma road after attending a meeting in the town of Ogboji, according to the congregation’s secretary-general Sister Maria Sobenna Ikeotuonye.
Although not officially confirmed, it is believed that the abductors were local armed criminals who seek financial gain through ransoms. John Newton said:
"It does look as though, in this case, the nuns have been kidnapped purely for the ransom. The Church tends not to pay ransoms wherever possible, because it believes that if it's seen to pay ransoms, then it encourages the targeting of clergy. The trouble is that the kidnappers are often from groups which have been thrust into poverty and therefore the financial element is a major motivating factor, unfortunately. But these kidnappers are still human beings, and hopefully they will have mercy and they will release the two sisters unharmed and without the need for any sort of payment from the congregation."
The nuns belong to the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of Christ – which sent a message to ACN asking everyone to pray for their unconditional release.
Sister Ikeotuonye called for the “powerful intercession of our blessed mother Mary for their speedy release”.
She added: “We solicit your fervent prayers and supplications to God that they may be released as soon as possible and come back to us safe and sound. Pray also that they may be released unconditionally.”
According to research by ACN, 11 priests were abducted in the country in 2024 and another priest was killed.