ABUJA, Nigeria
Nigerian police rescued an Italian Catholic priest who was abducted on Sunday in the southern Edo State, local media report citing a police spokesperson.
Luigi Brena was one of three Catholic priests that had been taken into captivity in the West African country in less than 48 hours, and the fourth in less than a week.
The abductions have left many Nigerians perplexed as they come on the back of deadly bandit attacks this year that saw hundreds of people kidnapped across the country.
According to local Premium Times news outlet, Edo State police spokesperson Jennifer Iwegbu said three kidnappers had been killed by police in an operation while others managed to escape.
Kidnap for ransom is a common crime in Nigeria as criminals use the vice to extort horrified families huge sums of money.
In some cases, those abducted were held in captivity for months, while others never made it back to their families.
The criminals have recently turned their attention to churches as easy targets.
In May, two religious leaders of the Methodist Church of Nigeria were kidnapped in Abia State in Nigeria’s South-east.
The two were released nearly two days later after the church paid a ransom of N100 million (240,500 U.S. dollars) to the kidnappers.
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