The Catholic church in the north-western Nigerian state of Kaduna says a priest has been kidnapped, amid a spate of similar incidents.

Colleagues of Father Emmanuel Silas realised he had been abducted after he didn’t show up for mass on Monday morning and was nowhere to be seen in his living quarters, according to Father John Mark who spoke to the BBC.

On Saturday two Catholic priests were abducted in the southern state of Edo, and last week a priest was taken from his home near the city of Auchi in the same region and later found dead.

The security services in Nigeria are struggling to combat an upsurge in criminal killings and kidnappings for ransom across the country.

Source: BBC