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<p>A Nigerian-born priest who served in the Diocese of Fairbanks, Alaska, for more than half a decade has been captured by the terrorist group Boko Haram after returning to his home country. </p>
<p>Fairbanks Bishop Steven Maekawa, OP, <a class="null" href="https://www.facebook.com/100064382484690/posts/pfbid0SuDMLoG6KLUVe76VoUVrLWa4BtDZzTa54wbJzpT8itBoaKbLTZ5tJ92J4S5w31rzl/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null">said in a statement this week</a> that Father Alphonsus Afina was “captured by Boko Haram as he was serving the Church in the Diocese of Maiduguri” in the Nigerian state of Borno.</p>
<p>Afina served in the Alaskan diocese for six and a half years before returning to Nigeria last April, the bishop said. </p>
<p>“Pray for his freedom from captivity and for his physical and spiritual strength,” he wrote. The bishop said he planned to offer a special Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Fairbanks for Afina. </p>
<p>The papal charity Aid to the Church in Need <a class="null" href="https://acninternational.org/bishop-calls-for-prayers-as-priest-is-kidnapped-by-jihadists-in-nigeria/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null">reported on Thursday</a> that Maiduguri Auxiliary Bishop John Bagna Bakeni said the priest was taken on Sunday, June 1. </p>
<p>Afina and two others were kidnapped in the Gwoza region while traveling to Maiduguri, the prelate said. The party with which they were traveling was reportedly “caught in a crossfire between Nigerian soldiers and terrorists,” with multiple fatalities resulting. </p>
<p>Bakeni told the charity that the diocese was contacted by Boko Haram, which offered proof that the kidnapped priest was still alive. </p>
<p>The Fairbanks Diocese did not respond to a query on Thursday regarding the incident. Father Robert Fath, the vicar general of the diocese, <a class="null" href="https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2025/06/05/terrorist-group-contacted-diocese-saying-they-kidnapped-former-alaska-priest-church-leader-says/#" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null">told local media</a> that the diocese was “hopeful that [our] prayers, our intercessions … will soften [Boko Haram’s] hearts to release him.”</p>
<p>“There’s not much we can do” except pray, Fath said. </p>
<p>”It’s the most powerful thing that we can do at this point; pray for his strength during this time of captivity and persecution, but also [that] he’ll hopefully, God willing, one day be freed.”</p>
<p>Aid to the Church in Need said Afina is the 15th religious to be kidnapped in Nigeria this year.</p>
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<br /><a href="https://www.ncregister.com/cna/nigerian-priest-who-served-in-alaska-captured-by-boko-haram">Source link </a></p>
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Nigerian Priest Who Served in Alaska Captured by Boko Haram, Bishop Says| National Catholic Register
