The Catholic Church has announced the kidnap of two priests, in Kaduna State on Friday. Father John Mark Cheitnum and Father Denatus Cleopas were abducted at around 5:45 PM at the rectory of Christ the King Catholic Church in the town of Lere in Nigeria’s northern Kaduna State.

“May Jesus, crucified on the Cross, listen to our prayers and hasten the unconditional release of His priests and all other kidnapped persons,” Father Emmanuel Uchechukwu Okolo wrote in a statement shared with CNA.

Okolo, who serves as the chancellor of the diocese of Kafanchan, called for intense prayers from the Catholic faithful and well-meaning Nigerians for the safe release of the kidnapped priests. He also called on “all and sundry” to refrain from taking the law into their hands.

“We will use every legitimate means to ensure their quick and safe release,” he said.

At least seven Catholic priests have been kidnapped in Nigeria in the month of July, according to data compiled by Aid to the Church in Need, a Catholic nonprofit organization.

The latest abduction brings a total up to 20 Nigerian priests kidnapped since the beginning of 2022. Three of the priests were killed.

Security expert David Otto, director of the Geneva Centre for Africa Security and Strategic Studies, based in Geneva, Switzerland, told CNA that the consensus of security experts in his group is that the Catholic Church is being targeted because it has been paying the steep ransoms demanded by the bandits, which can be as high as $200,000 or more.

The Nigerian Diocesan Catholic Priests Association has called on priests to observe a week of prayer, fasting, Eucharistic adoration, and recitation of the rosary to help them in their ministry despite the dangerous security situation.