Gunmen Abduct Catholic Priest In Benue<\/p>\n
The Police Command in Benue State has confirmed the abduction of Rev. Fr. John Otache, parish priest of St. Margaret’s Parish, Ajegbe-Awume, in Ohimini Local Government Area of the state.<\/p>\n
The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Aondogu Orchia, confirmed the incident on Friday in Makurdi.<\/p>\n
Orchia said the Command had commenced full investigation into the incident and that efforts were ongoing to rescue the priest.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Catholic Diocese of Otukpo, in a statement signed by the Diocesan Chancellor, Rev. Fr. Joseph Itodo, said the priest was abducted on October 13.<\/p>\n
According to Itodo, Otache was returning home from Otukpo when he encountered the abductors along the Otobi-Amejo-Ajegbe Road in Ohimini LGA.<\/p>\n
He expressed sadness over the incident, saying the Bishop of Otukpo, Most Rev. Michael Apochi, was deeply pained by the development.<\/p>\n
He called on priests, religious members, the laity and other well-meaning individuals to pray for the priest’s safe and speedy release.<\/p>\n
He also urged prayers for other persons held by kidnappers across the country, expressing hope for their safe return.<\/p>\n
About three months ago, on July 9, 2026, a seminarian identified as Kelvin Ochai was abducted from the Bishop’s Residence in Otukpo town.<\/p>\n
Also, about three years ago, the then parish priest of St. Margaret’s Catholic Church, Ajegbe-Awume, Rev. Fr. Anthony Adikwu, was kidnapped by unknown armed men.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gunmen Abduct Catholic Priest In Benue The Police Command in Benue State has confirmed the abduction of Rev. Fr. John Otache, parish priest of St. Margaret’s Parish, Ajegbe-Awume, in Ohimini Local Government Area of the state. The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Aondogu Orchia, confirmed the incident on Friday in Makurdi. Orchia said the Command […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[3638,160,3637],"class_list":["post-152877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-others","tag-abduction-of-catholic-priest","tag-benue-state","tag-dsp-aondogu-orchia"],"yoast_head":"\n