SW News: Search is ongoing for the Catholic Priest in Nigeria who was kidnapped on the evening of Saturday, April 15. Okigwe diocesan priest Michael Asomugha was on his way back from the diocesan diaconate ordination when the kidnapping occurred along Oriagu – Obowo road in Imo state.

The chancellor/secretary of the diocese Fr Princewill Iwuanyanwu released a statement on April 20 reporting the incident and calling for prayers. “We solicit your fervent prayers that he may come back to us safe and sound,” Fr. Princewill  wrote in the statement.

Fr. Asomugha was ordained to the priesthood on September 18, 2021, and was serving as the assistant parish priest at St. Paul’s Catholic church in Isiala Mbano, a local government area in Imo state.

According to the World Index of Christian Persecution, Nigeria accounts for 90% of kidnappings of Christians in the world. Open Doors has ranked Nigeria number 6 on its World Watch List which includes countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution.