Kidnapped in Edo, Italian priest regains freedom after four days

Maurizio Pallù, an Italian missionary priest who was kidnapped in Benin, capital of Edo state, on Friday, has been set free.

Pallù was kidnapped while driving on the outskirts of Benin. He was with four Nigerians when the sad incident took place.

According to CRUX, a Catholic online platform, the priest was with four people – all Nigerians – when the kidnappers struck.

The three of them taken were led to a nearby forest, where they remained with little or no food.

“I’m fine, very happy,” Pallù told Vatican Radio after being released on a day to his 63rd birthday.

“The Lord has risen, he’s accompanied me, I’ve had moments of fear but I have to say that I really felt the help of the saints.”

The priest said this is the second time he has been kidnapped in the past year. He said both incidents fell on October 13, day for the feast of Our Lady of Fatima.

According to him, his liberation, “means that the Lord has a great plan for this country, because the devil is attacking it with great force to destroy God’s work in this nation”.

“As a matter of fact, I was going to Benin city where the Nigerian bishops celebrated the re-consecration of Nigeria to the Virgin Mary, and I wanted to be there on October 13 for this great Eucharist,” he said.

“Instead, I spent October 13 in the forest and I received a sign of the maternal attention of Mary.”