Abuja — "I was able to speak with Father Afina. He is well and in good health. We hope he can be released soon," said John Bogna Bakeni, Auxiliary Bishop of Maiduguri (capital of Borno State in northeastern Nigeria), to Fides. He confirmed the news reported by some newspapers in Fairbanks (Alaska, USA) about the kidnapping of Father Alphonsus Afina, a Nigerian priest who served for years as a chaplain in the US diocese.
"Father Afina was kidnapped on the night of Sunday, June 1, near Gwoza, as he was returning to Maiduguri after celebrating Mass," Msgr. Bakeni reported. The kidnappers then contacted the Diocese of Maiduguri by phone and provided proof that Father Afina is alive. The area around Gwoza is relatively unsafe due to the presence of the two largest groups into which the Islamist Boko Haram has split. One is the "Jama'tu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad" (JAS). The other, the "Islamic State West Africa Province" (ISWAP), has joined the Islamic State and become the "West Africa Province" (see Fides, 2/7/2024).
The news of the Nigerian priest's kidnapping caused great distress in the US Diocese of Fairbanks, where Father Afina worked in the villages of the Seward Peninsula for six and a half years from 2017 to 2024. During his time in the American diocese, Father Afina took online courses to earn a degree in psychology and counseling, with theintention of founding a trauma center for Boko Haram victims upon his return to Nigeria.
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On June 3, the Diocese of Fairbanks celebrated a Mass to pray for the priest's return to his family. More than 200 parishioners attended the Mass, and others watched the live broadcast from the villages where Father Afina served.
