The Prelate Draws Line in Sand as Clergy Kidnapping Crisis Reaches Breaking
By Mwalimu McMua
The Archbishop of Bamenda‚ His Grace Andrew Nkea‚ has issued a categorical ultimatum to armed separatist factions, demanding the immediate and unconditional release of Reverend Father John Berinyuy Tatah, who remains in captivity following a brazen abduction that has sent shockwaves throughout the ecclesiastical province.
The Archbishop’s pronouncement, delivered with unprecedented gravity and disseminated today across all parishes within the Archdiocese, represents a watershed moment in the protracted crisis that has plagued the North West and South West regions for nearly a decade. The prelate’s declaration leaves no ambiguity: the perpetrators have been afforded their final opportunity to demonstrate clemency before facing consequences of an ecclesiastical magnitude rarely witnessed in contemporary times.
“The frequent kidnapping of our Priests and Mission personnel has pushed us to the wall,” Archbishop Nkea declared, his words carrying the weight of both pastoral compassion and righteous indignation. The Archbishop made unequivocally clear that such egregious violations of sacred ministry “should stop with immediate effect.”
The current crisis commenced on November 15, when the Parish Priest of Babessi and his Assistant were forcibly seized by gunmen self-identifying as separatist combatants while returning from the inaugural ceremonies of the PAX University Institute in Ndop. In an ill-fated attempt to negotiate their release, four additional clergymen and a lay faithful ventured to parley with the captors, only to find themselves similarly detained in a deplorable escalation of the hostage situation.
While five priests and the lay individual were subsequently released, Father Tatah remains incarcerated, with his captors allegedly demanding ransom’‚ a demand the Archbishop has categorically and unambiguously rejected, reaffirming the Church’s longstanding policy of refusing to submit to such extortionate demands.
The Archbishop has now instituted a meticulously calibrated series of escalating measures, each designed to demonstrate the gravity with which the faithful regard this unconscionable violation. Commencing immediately, the Prayer of Saint Michael the Archangel‚ the celestial warrior against principalities and powers‚ shall be recited after Communion at every Mass, invoking divine intervention for Father Tatah’s liberation.
Should the captors prove obstinate and fail to release the priest by Wednesday, November 27, the Archbishop has mandated the complete cessation of all ecclesiastical operations throughout the Ndop Deanery. Parishes, educational institutions, and all Catholic establishments shall be shuttered, their clergy and religious personnel withdrawn “till further notice.” In an action of profound symbolic significance, priests have been directed to remove the Blessed Sacrament from all sacred spaces, leaving tabernacles conspicuously vacant‚ a haunting testament to the spiritual desolation wrought by such barbarism.
The Archbishop’s final measure constitutes nothing less than an ecclesiastical gauntlet thrown at the feet of these kidnappers
Should Father Tatah remain captive by Friday, Navember 29, His Grace himself, accompanied by the entire presbyterate, religious orders, and the lay faithful of the Archdiocese, shall undertake a mass pilgrimage to Baba 1, marching directly to the location of Father Tatah’s detention. They shall either secure his release or maintain vigil at the site indefinitely‚ a display of unified determination that defies the captors to perpetrate violence against thousands of peaceful Christians.
This is no hollow threat or mere rhetorical posturing. The Archbishop speaks with the authority vested in him as shepherd of souls and defender of his flock. The faithful of Bamenda have demonstrated throughout this protracted crisis their capacity for extraordinary courage and unwavering solidarity. The kidnappers would be profoundly mistaken to interpret Christian forbearance as weakness or ecclesiastical patience as capitulation.
The Archbishop’s pronouncement extends beyond immediate crisis management, addressing the broader humanitarian catastrophe afflicting the region. He acknowledged the countless lay persons who have endured kidnappings, torture, and violence, asserting their fundamental right to “live in tranquility and peace.” Furthermore, he directed stern admonitions toward military personnel, exhorting them to uphold professional and ethical standards while eschewing exploitation and brutality.
As the crisis enters its ninth year, Archbishop Nkea issued an impassioned appeal to all stakeholders to pursue dialogue and resolution. “The people of the North West and South West Regions have suffered enough and they deserve to have a quiet life and go about their activities peacefully,” he declared, invoking the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace.
The gauntlet has been thrown. The deadline approaches. The kidnappers now face a choice: demonstrate basic humanity by releasing Father Tatah immediately, or confront the unified, peaceful, yet utterly resolute resistance of an entire Archdiocese that will no longer tolerate such profanation of sacred ministry.
The hour of reckoning has certainly arrived where the faithful are involved.
