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Gunmen, on Monday night, attacked St Albert the Great Institute of Philosophy, a Catholic seminary in Fayit, Kagoma, in Jama’a Local Government Area (LGA) of Kaduna State and abducted three students.
Chancellor of the Catholic Diocese of Kafanchan in Kaduna, Emmanuel Okolo, who confirmed the incident in a statement, yesterday, said six other seminarians were injured during the attack.
Okolo said: “We announce with unease the kidnap of three major seminarians of the Christ the King Major Seminary. Christ the King Major Seminary, our diocesan Major Seminary, is domiciled within the St. Albert Institute. It houses mostly the formators and seminarians preparing for the Catholic priesthood.
“As at the time of the attack, 10 formators, including the Rectors of the Seminary and the Institute, 132 seminarians, six non-seminarians, one female non-academic staff and one steward were on ground.
“Six seminarians sustained various degrees of injuries. A dispatch of soldiers of the Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) was on ground to accompany some formators and the injured seminarians to Salem Hospital in Kafanchan. There, they were treated and discharged after being confirmed to be stable.
“From the narrative of the seminary security agents, the law enforcement personnel and the headcount conducted after Mass on the 12th October, 2021, it was confirmed that three Theology Four seminarians were abducted.
These seminarians belong to the Apostles of Divine Charity and the Little Sons of the Eucharist Congregation.”
Meanwhile, the diocese has urged the public to pray for the safety of the victims, adding that it would “use every legitimate means to ensure their prompt and secure release.”
