Fr. Isaac Agabi, a member of the clergy of the Nigerian Catholic diocese of Auchi, who was kidnapped with a seminarian on Sunday of the Holy Trinity of 2020, has reported his experience as kidnapped, attributing his successful flight to Our Lady of Perpetual Socorro.
On March 29, in an interview with ACI Africa – EWTN news assignment for the African continent – after The peaceful protests promoted by the diocese of Auchi Against the kidnapping and murder in Nigeria, Fr. Agabi suggested that the country’s major seminars consider guiding seminarians in survival tactics and crisis management.
Receive the main news of ACI Press by WhatsApp and Telegram
It is increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social networks. Subscribe to our free channels today:
“I saw a group of boys running towards my car. At first, I did not realize that they were armed, but when I saw the weapons, I knew we were in trouble,” said Father Agabi about the events of June 7, 2020. That day, along with the then seminarista Justice Chidi Mbonu, ordered priest on October 29, 2022, they were ambushed by shepherds. The state of Edo.
“They forced the car, they took me out and immediately began to hit me. They lifted and threw me to the ground. They used wood to hit me repeatedly. In a minute they had turned me into garbage,” added the priest.
While the kidnappers attacked him, Fr. Agabi begged asking what he had done to deserve such treatment.
“They told me that it was his enemy. They accused me and others of killing their people. They said they would kill me,” recalls the parish priest of the Church of San Jerónimo, located in Irekpai, Uzairue, Edo state.
Together with the Justice seminarian, they were taken to the forest, where their captors continued to mistreat them.
Fr. Agabi remembers that he was stripped of his dawn, his stole and everything he was wearing, except his rosary. Then they forced him to wear his dawn under his arm.
Already in captivity, the kidnappers demanded a rescue of 100 million Nairras (some US $ 65,000).
“They asked who I could call and told them to the bishop. The kidnappers spoke with him, but the bishop told them that the church had no money to pay,” said the Nigerian priest, adding that Bishop Gabriel Ghiakhomo Dunia “enraged the kidnappers, who intensified their attacks.”
Father Agabi realized that his survival depended on giving the kidnappers some hope that the rescue was being negotiated.
“I begged the bishop and other priests with whom I got in touch that at least pretended to negotiate with them. I knew they were able to kill us at any time and we needed to gain time,” he told Aci Africa in the interview of March 29.
As the days passed, the brutality of the captors continued. According to the priest: “They tied us, they covered our face and threatened to kill us. They took us to a deep well, saying that our bodies would throw us there after killing us.”
Then, Fr. Agabi recalled an unexpected turn of the events that, according to him, gave them the opportunity to escape. One night, two of the kidnappers went out to buy food, but never returned. This created confusion among the other kidnappers.
“I am a devotee of Our Lady of Perpetual Socorro; I made a devotion to the Virgin of Perpetual Socorro. So it was, because throughout my journey with those kidnappers, I was always invoking the salvation of the mother of perpetual relief, ”he said.
“That Sunday was Sunday of the Blessed Trinity,” recalls Fr. Agabi, referring to the day they were kidnapped, and also remembering their delivery to God’s will: be executed or survive to tell the story. He says he has prayed: “God, if it is your will that survives, make it happen, but if not your will be done; I give my life in your hands, Lord.”
“Towards midnight, some began to fall asleep. That was our chance. The seminarian and I ran to the mountain and we kept running. We ran for hours in total darkness, without knowing where we were going,” says Father Agabi.
The escape was a success, he told ACI Africa, recalling the events of June 9, 2020, when he and Seminarista Justice finally regained their freedom.
He described the flight as a miracle, adding that the experience was traumatic, leaving scars to date. Almost five years after captivity, Father Agabi continues to fight against the psychological effects of terrible experience.
“Since then, I have not been the same again. If I see a Fulani or if I drive on a lonely road, fear seizes me. I don’t think anyone who has lived this can be normal again,” he said.
Although the experience of fear is real, the kidnapping has reinforced its determination, said the 46 -year -old Nigerian priest. And he said: “I’m no longer afraid of anything; I am not afraid of death.”
“Even if they tell me that they want to kill me and sign up with a gun, I will not follow them; I will not go,” he added. Father Agabi said that if he had known that he was going to be subjected to the torture he suffered, “it is better that you die, to experience that.”
Fr. Agabi lamented the lack of psycho -spyritual support: “No one has ever called me to ask me how I am taking it or if I need help. I only try to live with trauma.”
In his opinion, the Church and security agencies must do more to protect priests, who are becoming more and more objectives. “The kidnappings do not cease. They have even taken a priest of their own apartment. This means that we are not sure anywhere,” he said.
He added: “We have to learn to react to these situations. What should we do when the assailants break into our homes? How to escape? How do we protect ourselves?”
Fr. Agabi, a priest for 15 years, proposed to organize spiritual retreats in which the clergy in crisis management, personal defense and survival tactics are formed.
“We do not pray that bad things happen, but if they happen, we must know what to do to defend ourselves as priests,” he said.
Father Agabi urged other priests who face threats similar to not losing faith. “Do not give up. Look at God, the same God who saved me. If we are alive after such experiences, it means that God still has a purpose for us,” he said.
“Those men had all the opportunities to kill me, but God did not allow it. That means that my mission has not yet ended here on earth, and this is a second chance to serve God even better than he had done before being kidnapped,” said Fr. Agabi.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Press team. Originally published in ACO Africa.
Abah Anthony John
Abah Anthony John is a Nigerian journalist interested in communication and apostolate through the media. He has a Bachelor of Mass Communication at Benue State University, Makurdi, Benue state, Nigeria. It has extensive experience in print, digital and multimedia production.