Pope Leo XIV Condemns Mass Kidnappings in Nigeria and Cameroon, Demands Immediate Release of Hostages
PORT HARCOURT, NIGERIA— 23 November 2025 |
Fr. Dr. Okhueleigbe Osemhantie Ãmos
Pope Leo XIV has issued a firm and emotionally charged condemnation of the recent kidnappings of priests, students, and lay faithful in Nigeria and Cameroon, describing the unfolding situation as a “great pain” for the entire Church and a wound that affects the conscience of the world. Addressing tens of thousands gathered in St Peter’s Square during his Angelus, the Pope spoke with clarity and urgency, drawing international attention to the alarming rise in attacks on churches and schools across West and Central Africa.
In his own words, the Holy Father declared: *“I was deeply saddened to learn of the kidnapping of priests, faithful, and students in Nigeria and Cameroon. I feel great pain, above all for the many young men and women who have been abducted and for their distressed families. I make a heartfelt appeal for the immediate release of the hostages and urge the competent authorities to take appropriate and timely decisions to ensure their release. Let us pray for these brothers and sisters of ours, and that churches and schools may always and everywhere remain places of safety and hope.”* His appeal, delivered with characteristic calm but unmistakable gravity, has amplified global calls for urgent action.
The most devastating of the incidents occurred in Papiri, Niger State, where armed men invaded St Mary’s Catholic School and abducted more than 300 students alongside several teachers. Local authorities and Church officials reported that about 50 students escaped in the chaos that followed, but several hundred remain unaccounted for, making it one of the largest school kidnappings in Nigeria since the notorious Chibok and Kankara abductions. Parents spent the weekend wandering between police outposts, hospitals, and nearby forests seeking information about their children, while emergency security operations were deployed across the area. The raid has forced the temporary closure of schools in several neighbouring communities and reignited national debates about the country’s capacity to secure rural educational institutions.
In Cameroon, the situation has been similarly unsettling. At least six Catholic priests from the Archdiocese of Bamenda were kidnapped in separate incidents in the troubled Northwest Region, where armed groups have targeted religious figures as the Anglophone crisis continues to deepen. A Baptist pastor travelling through Jakiri was also reported abducted in the same period. Church authorities confirmed that negotiations, community pressure, and security operations are ongoing, but fear and uncertainty continue to dominate local parishes.
The events in both countries reflect an escalating pattern of abductions that has increasingly placed religious institutions, schools, and clergy at the centre of regional insecurity. Analysts note that criminal gangs and armed groups now exploit weak policing, porous borders, and ransom-driven economies with alarming frequency. Faith-based institutions, once considered sanctuaries, have become deliberate targets, striking at the spiritual and psychological foundations of communities. November alone has recorded multiple coordinated attacks on schools and religious centres, leaving families traumatized and governments scrambling for effective responses.
The Pope’s intervention, delivered from the symbolic heart of global Catholicism, has heightened international pressure on Nigerian and Cameroonian authorities to intensify rescue efforts and demonstrate renewed resolve. Vatican officials have described the appeal as both pastoral and diplomatic, a blend of moral authority and a direct call to action. Church leaders across Africa have welcomed the statement, noting that it strengthens their own appeals for justice, protection, and safety for the most vulnerable. Humanitarian agencies are preparing trauma-care responses for freed victims, while security forces are expanding search operations across forests, border corridors, and known criminal hideouts.
As families wait anxiously for news, Pope Leo XIV’s words have become the global reference point for the unfolding crisis, a reminder that the protection of innocent lives, especially those of children and clergy, is not only a national obligation but a moral imperative that transcends borders and political complexities. The coming days will determine whether the international community’s renewed attention, combined with domestic security efforts, can achieve the one outcome millions are praying for: the safe return of every abducted soul.
Fr. Dr. Okhueleigbe Osemhantie Ãmos is a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Uromi and a Lecturer at CIWA, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
