The last of the four seminarians with the Catholic Good Shepherd Major Seminary, Kakau in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, abducted by armed men has been killed by his abductors.
Also killed, apparently by the same group of abductors was the wife of a Kaduna-based medical doctor.
The bodies of 18 year-old Michael Nnamdi, the Seminarian and Mrs. Philip Ataga were picked up from the roadside their killers dumped them on Saturday, February 1, 2020.
According to Newspot, the bodies were found, meaning they were kidnapped by the same ruthless gang, at different times and different places.
While Nnadi was kidnapped in the night of January 8 from his seminary, Mrs. Ataga and her two children were kidnapped on January 24, by armed men from the family’s residence at Juji, in Chikun LGA of Kaduna state.
Her captors were said to have killed her after her family failed to meet their demand of a N150 million ransom for the deceased and two of her children.
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Newspot reported that the bandits killed Mrs. Ataga, dumped her corpse and called her husband to direct him to where to pick the corpse.
Her corpse was picked and deposited at the mortuary at the Barau Dikko Specialist Hospital, Kaduna.
After killing her, the bandits are still reportedly making a demand of N20 million ransom for the release of the children, the online platform reported.
Nnadi, whose body was also recovered on Saturday was the remaining seminarian said to still be in captivity on Friday when the Seminary announced the release of three of his colleagues.
The four students, including Pius Kanwai, 19, Peter Umenukor, 23 and Stephen Amos, 23 were kidnapped from The Good Shepherd Major Seminary, Kaduna.
The gunmen, disguised in military camouflage, broke through the fence surrounding the seminarians’ living quarters and began shooting sporadically. They stole laptops and phones before kidnapping the four young men.
Rev. Fr. Joel Usman, Registrar of the Seminary, who announced the release of three of the students on Friday in Kaduna, was hopeful for the return of the fourth student.
“But today, Michael Nnadi, the youngest of the four captives was found dead. The kidnappers had done their worst.
“With a very heavy heart, I wish to inform you that our dear son, Michael was murdered by the bandits on a date we cannot confirm. He and the wife of a doctor were arbitrarily separated from the group and killed. The Rector identified the corpse this afternoon,” Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto, Nigeria, said in a statement released Feb. 1.
According to Catholic News Agency, the three students who were freed by the abductors, were released piece-meal. On Jan. 20, ACI Africa, CAN’s African news partner, reported that one of the abducted seminarians had been freed by his kidnappers after 10 days in captivity.
That seminarian was dumped alongside the highway with extensive injuries, which are believed to have been sustained during the kidnapping. He is now receiving medical treatment.
On Friday, January 31, Rev. Fr. Joel Usman announced that two more of the kidnapped seminarians had been released.
At that time, it was reported that one seminarian was still at large, and was presumed to remain in captivity. That seminarian was Nnadi.
In his Feb. 1 statement, Bishop Kukah said that he had to delay the announcement of Nnadi’s death slightly until his mother could be informed.
“We have broken the news to her and I will be with her,” Kukah said.
“The Lord knows best. Let’s remain strong and pray for the repose of his soul,” he added.
Nearly 270 seminarians live at Good Shepherd.
The seminary is located just off the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria Express Way.
According to AFP, the area is “notorious for criminal gangs kidnapping travellers for ransom.”
