Cardinal demands action by Nigeria government against kidnappings, says ‘no excuse’ for silence

ABUJA, Nigeria — Cardinal John Onaiyekan has challenged Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu 's administration to intensify efforts to end kidnapping and other violent crimes in Nigeria, insisting that the government has “no excuse” for failing to tackle the countryʼs worsening insecurity.

In an interview with ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, on the sidelines of the 25th anniversary celebration of the Catholic Men Organization of Nigeria, Onaiyekan said the recent rescue of abducted schoolchildren should serve as renewed motivation for authorities to dismantle kidnapping networks.

“We can be saying ‘thank God,’ we thank our president, and so on, but the kidnapping should not have happened in the first place if the government was serious about fighting insecurity. [It] has no excuse not to end kidnapping in Nigeria,” the 82-year-old cardinal said during the July 14 interview.

While expressing gratitude for the childrenʼs safe return after nearly two months in captivity, Onaiyekan, the archbishop emeritus of Abuja, emphasized that the release does not erase the trauma the children endured or the suffering of their families.

“We are all grateful to…