Amid a nationwide wave of kidnappings including last week’s discovery of the body of another abducted Catholic priest in southern Nigeria, the Rev. Emmanuel Haruna of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) was kidnapped at gunpoint outside his home on church premises in Gidan Ausa, Nasarawa state.

“He was making a phone call by his house when some men shot into the air and took him away,” the Rev. Romanus Ebenwokodi, ECWA spokesman, told Morning Star News. “Please pray for his safety and release.”

Earlier on Monday (March 25) in Kaduna state, gunmen reportedly abducted the Rev. John Bako Shekwolo, priest of St. Theresa Catholic Church in Ankwa Kachia County, according to an archdiocese statement. Little else was known at this writing.

In Nasarawa state, Pastor Haruna leads an ECWA congregation in Gidan Ausa, near Lafia, the state capital. Also chaplain of the Boys Brigade, Nasarawa State Council, he was said to be searching for a better signal to make a phone call when he was kidnapped after 10 p.m.

A statement from the Nasarawa State Council confirmed the kidnapping.

“The incident occurred when he stepped out of the house in search for mobile network and in the course of making calls,” the statement reads. “The family heard a sporadic gunshot, and the next thing that followed thereafter was him shouting at the top of his voice, ‘Help me, help me, they want to kill me,’ and before people could come out, the unknown gunmen had already taken him away. Let us pray for him and the family please.”

The Muslim population of Nasarawa state could be as high as 32 percent, with Christians making up as much as 65 percent, according to an Open Doors study estimate based on unconfirmed figures. Of Nigeria’s overall population, Christians make up 51.3 percent, while Muslims account for 45 percent.

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