A priest kidnapped on 28 October in the northern state of Kaduna was murdered a month later, the Church of Nigeria said Saturday.
The Anglican cleric was seized from his home in Nissi village, Chikun County along with his wife and daughter, who remain in captivity.
The kidnappers initially sought the naira equivalent of $416,000 for him but later cut the demand in half.
Kaduna is situated immediately north of Abuja Capital Territory.
Nigeria’s out-of-control kidnapping problem leaped to international attention with the 19 November abduction of 303 students and 12 staff from a Catholic boarding school in the west-central state of Niger.
The mass kidnapping is on par with the infamous 2014 abduction of 276 schoolgirls by the Islamic terror cult Boko Haram in the northeastern state of Borno.
Under intense pressure, President Bola Tinubu last Wednesday declared a nationwide state of emergency and announced that 20,000 police officers would be recruited, raising the total to 50,000.
He also ordered a sharp cut in the number of mobile police (MOPOL) officers deployed to protect VIPs, leading to the transfer of 11,566 officers from protection details to deployment in areas where armed groups that engage in mass kidnappings are active.
Under the presidential order, armed protection for VIPs now will have to be requested from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC).
MOPOL officers long have played a central role in protecting foreign corporate personnel, meaning the changes if fully implemented will have an operational impact on multinationals.
Indeed, armed protection for foreign and local corporate personnel outside elite enclaves across Nigeria is imperative given high rates of kidnapping, carjacking and other violent crime across Nigeria.
The implications of the transfer of MOPOL officers from protective duties should be monitored closely.
The death of the priest is a reminder that throughout the country most kidnap victims are seized alone or in small groups.
Mass abductions like that of the Catholic school children mostly occur north of Abuja.
Heavily armed criminal gangs have proliferated in the northwest and north-center of the country in the past several years.
In the far northeast, security forces have struggled to contend with insurgencies by Boko Haram and its even more potent offshoot, Islamic State – West Africa Province (IS-WAP). While fighting each other and the army, the two groups continue to routinely engage in kidnapping. In the past, they have targeted locals and foreigners employed by international humanitarian organizations.
Throughout Nigeria, foreigners are prime targets for kidnappers.
Corporate personnel should avoid all of Nigeria north of Abuja. If travel there must be undertaken, security professionals should be consulted.
Those who must visit Abuja and its surroundings should be alert constantly due to latent terrorism risks posed by Boko Haram and IS-WAP. The city should be reached by air exclusively. Potential terrorist targets include hotels, places of worship, malls, Nigerian government facilities, embassies and large gathering places. Westerners should not visit shopping venues during peak hours of operation, and should not linger after completing transactions. Personnel in the capital and nearby area should not circulate after dark. Those on the ground for more than a few days should alter travel times and routes.
See the country summary for advice pertaining to serious kidnapping and other risks in the rest of Nigeria, including Lagos.
