The CAN chairman could not disclose “whether ransom was paid to secure the release of the priests” but said they “had been taken to the hospital for medical checkups.”
The public relations officer for Plateau State Security Command, Alfred Alabo, also confirmed the release of the two priests.
“No suspects are in police custody yet as those apprehended by the local vigilantes [said] to have committed the crime were never handed over to the police,” he said.
The provincial secretary of the Claretians, Father Dominic Ukpong, had announced the abduction of his two confreres in a statement on Feb. 2. He had appealed for “prayers at this challenging time for their safety and quick release from captivity.”
The West African nation has been battling a surge of violence orchestrated by gangs, whose members carry out indiscriminate attacks, kidnapping for ransom, and in some cases, killing.
Insurgency by Boko Haram, a group that allegedly aims to turn Africa’s most populous nation into an Islamic nation, has been a major challenge in the country since 2009.
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