A Nigerian Catholic priest who once served in Alaska has been abducted by Boko Haram militants along with other civilians in northeastern Nigeria, the church confirmed.
The Rev. Alphonsus Afina, who returned to Nigeria earlier this year after years of service in the U.S., was seized on June 1 near Gwoza, a remote border town in Borno state, according to Bishop John Bogna Bakeni of Maiduguri.
Afina was en route from Mubi to Maiduguri for a workshop when the convoy he was traveling in came under attack while halted at a military checkpoint.
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“A rocket-propelled grenade hit one of the vehicles, killing one person and wounding others,” Bakeni told The Associated Press on Sunday.
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Speaking the day after the abduction, Bakeni said he briefly spoke with Afina by phone. The priest, though fatigued from walking, was “sounding OK” and “in good spirits.”
It remains unclear whether Afina was specifically targeted.
“There were many travelers caught up in the ambush,” Bakeni said. “Other travelers were also abducted,” though the total number remains unknown.
The Nigerian government has not issued any statement or responded to inquiries about the incident.
Rev. Robert Fath, vicar general of the Diocese of Fairbanks, Alaska, told the Anchorage Daily News that he received a direct call from Boko Haram confirming they were holding Afina.
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Afina had ministered in Alaska from 2017 until his return to Nigeria in 2024, where he now serves with the Catholic Church’s Justice, Development and Peace Commission.
Nigeria continues to face unrelenting violence in its northern and central regions, where armed groups such as Boko Haram routinely attack rural communities, abduct civilians, and demand ransom.
Religious leaders are not spared. In March, an unidentified group kidnapped and murdered a priest in central Nigeria.
Boko Haram, an extremist group that rejects Western education, launched its insurgency in 2009 with the goal of establishing strict Islamic rule.
The UN estimates that their campaign has killed more than 35,000 civilians and displaced over 2 million people, with violence spilling into neighboring countries.
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