Don Luigi Brena, the 64-year-old Venetian missionary of the Somascan fathers, freed himself during the kidnapping attempt on Sunday 3 July in Ogunwenyi, in the southwestern local government area of Ovia, in the state of Edo in southern Nigeria. The priest’s release did not therefore take place during a police raid, as declared in a note by the Nigerian police forces themselves.
“They cut off his ear with a knife”
“They entered the house and wanted to kidnap Father Luigi”, said José Antonio Nieto Sepulveda, general supervisor of the Somascan fathers, who overheard Father Brena and the two Nigerian religious who live in the same community by telephone “but he defended himself by clinging to the railing. Before that. the kidnappers started shooting. Then they beat him and wounded him with a knife: they cut off half of his ear, then he was hospitalized. The police said they intervened immediately and released him. He is not true, the police came much later. “
The hypothesis of Muslim breeders from the North
“The other two fathers warned us immediately – continues Nieto Sepulveda -. According to them, the kidnappers are Muslim terrorists who come from northern Nigeria with cows. They intended to kidnap him for ransom. They really massacred him. Fortunately not. he’s had damage to his bones and internal organs. His head is bandaged, his ear sewn up and he’s still in hospital. I heard him, he’s fine, he’s calm, he’s a very positive person. And he said: ‘We thank God that I’m still here'”.
“Rich Nigeria in the hands of Christians”
Father Nieto Sepulveda was in Nigeria three weeks ago, shortly before the massacre in the Catholic church of San Francesco Xavier in Owo, in the state of Ondo. The Somascan fathers have three communities in Nigeria, including one in Lagos, and about 25 religious. Each community has a parish, a house for formation and a house for orphans. The Somascans have been missionaries in Nigeria for 17 years. Father Luigi Brena has been in that community for about ten years, previously he had been in the Philippines. Despite the dangers, the superior said, “we will stay: maybe we will have to put a guard on the side of the community”. On the reasons for the ambush, Father Nieto Sepulveda thinks that “they are religious but also economic aspects: the rich part of Nigeria and oil – he concludes – are in fact in the hands of Christians”.
Governor Zaia: “Happy for Don Luigi”
“I welcome the news of the release of Father Luigi Brena with great joy – said the president of the Veneto Region, Luca Zaia -: the commitment of the Somascan fathers in Nigeria, in favor of orphans and for formation, is fundamental. I hope that Father Brena will be able to recover as soon as possible and resume his activity towards the most needy as soon as possible, which is fundamental for the community “.