The wife of the Bishop of Bari and a diocesan secretary have been released more than a week after they were kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria’s Kana State.
Saratu Zubairu, the wife of the Bishop of Bari, Idris Ado Zubairu, and a church secretary identified only as Deborah, were abducted when a gang attacked and looted the village of Gidan Mato, where the cathedral and bishop’s office are situated.
News of their release was announced by the then-Archbishop of Nigeria, Nicholas Okoh, during a live televised broadcast on Friday night (20 March). The broadcast, on the provnice’s television station ACNNTV, was showing the consecration of five new bishops and the installation of two archbishops at the Cathedral Church of Holy Trinity in Kogi.
The international charity Christian Solidarity Worldwide, which campaigns for the persecuted church, said that it welcomed the release “and wish both women a speedy recovery from this shocking ordeal.”
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