Nigerian police have launched an operation in search of a catholic priest who was kidnapped by gunmen over the weekend, local media report.

Rev Fr Jude Maduka is the parish priest of a church in the Okigwe area of the south-eastern Imo state.

A colleague told the Punch newspaper that the priest was kidnapped while preparing for the Sunday mass.

The church has called for the “safe and sound” release of the priest.

The kidnapping is the latest in a series of abductions that have targeted clergy in the West African nation.

Source:BBC