Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Nigeria recalls how seminarian Michael Nnadi was martyred after boldly preaching repentance and the Gospel to his Muslim kidnappers.
From lifesitenews.com and written by Patrick Delaney Fri Aug 21, 2026 - 4:02 pm EDT: Remarkable story of a martyred seminarian who evangelized his Muslim kidnappers - LifeSite
"(LifeSiteNews) — In a wide-ranging August 10 interview with Catholic World Report (CWR), Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto, Nigeria, reflected on the vibrant faith of African Catholics even as he warned that the continent is not immune to the secular forces that hollowed out the Church in Europe.
Amid discussions of the Church’s enormous growth in Africa, the looming influence of materialism and ongoing insecurity for the faithful in his nation, the bishop returned to a personal story that illustrated how the strength of the Church is paradoxically forged in persecution: the martyrdom of an 18-year-old seminarian who boldly evangelized his Muslim kidnappers and, for this reason, was murdered.
“I have lost a seminarian, a young 18-year-old man who was kidnapped, along with three of his mates,” Bishop Kukah recounted. “After negotiations and payment of ransom, his three colleagues were freed, while he was murdered. As God would have it, the kidnappers were caught one year later, and they confessed that they killed him because, despite their guns and knowing they were Muslims, he insisted that they must repent of their crimes and return to God!”
That young man was Michael Ikechukwu Nnadi, a first-year philosophy student at Good Shepherd Major Seminary in Kakau, Kaduna State, Nigeria.
On the night of January 8, 2020, around 10:30 p.m., armed men in military camouflage breached the seminary fence, fired shots, stole phones and laptops, and abducted Nnadi along with three classmates — Pius Kanwai, 19; Peter Umenukor, 23; and Stephen Amos, 23. The other three were eventually released after ransom negotiations, though Nnadi was not.
Bishop Kukah, whose diocese Nnadi belonged to, announced the death on February 1, 2020, after the seminary rector identified the body.
“With a very heavy heart, I wish to inform you that our dear son, Michael was murdered by the bandits on a date we cannot confirm,” the bishop said at the time. “He and the wife of a doctor were arbitrarily separated from the group and killed.”
According to Kukah in a later interview, the doctor’s wife, Bolanle Ataga, was killed by the “leader of the gang because she refused to be raped by him.”
‘Who are we to mourn? Who are we to refuse this crown of honor and glory?’
Nnadi was buried on February 11, 2020, at the seminary after a funeral Mass celebrated by Bishop Kukah. In his homily, the bishop transformed grief into a proclamation of victory. He shared how Aid to the Church in Need had mobilized a global response.
“(The Aid to the Church in Need) sent me a message to say that when they asked people around the world to light a candle for Michael on the date of his burial, 2,436 persons from Afghanistan, Pakistan, United States of America, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Madagascar, South Africa, Congo, Mali, France, Spain, Turkey, Saudi Arabia responded,” he said.
“In the light of this, I wondered, who are we to mourn? Who are we to refuse this crown of honor and glory? We ceased to mourn for Michael thereon,” he said, adding he had decided to recognize the martyrdom as a great honor and victory for the Christian community.
“For us Christians, it would seem safe to say that we are all marked men and women today. Yet, we must be ready to be washed in the blood of the lamb,” the bishop continued at the time.
“We feel as if our son has been chosen to represent us in the national team of martyrs. Without fear, we will complete the journey he started because his memory will give us strength,” the bishop encouraged.
“We know that Michael’s strength will inspire an army of young people to follow in his steps. We will march on with the cross of Christ entrusted to us, not in agony or pain, because our salvation lies in your cross. We have no vengeance or bitterness in our hearts. We have no drop of sorrow inside us. We are honored that our son has been summoned to receive the crown of martyrdom at the infancy of his journey to the priesthood,” he added.
“May the Lord place him beside His bosom and may he intercede for us. If his blood can bring healing to our nation, then his murderers will never have the final say. May God give him eternal peace,” Bishop Kukah concluded.
Michael Nnadi’s legacy endures
In late April 2020, police arrested members of the gang with the captors admitting they killed Nnadi precisely because he persistently preached repentance and the Gospel to them, even knowing their identity as Muslims. Bishop Kukah later described the young man as having “the courage of a martyr.”
In honor of the young martyr, the bishop’s house in Sokoto was renamed Michael Nnadi House, and the bishops of the Kaduna ecclesiastical province approved a shrine in his honor at Good Shepherd Seminary, where his grave stands near the entrance as a silent witness. Bishop Kukah has expressed hope that the Church will one day formally recognize Nnadi as a martyr.
In this month’s CWR interview, the bishop returned to this story as living proof of his stated conviction that “the history of our Church is a history of innocent blood and martyrdom … We cannot fear them because our faith is built on the blood of martyrs.”'
End of inspiring article...
Pray for -- and to -- Michael Nnadi! May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen...
Pray too for the defeat of these jihadist monsters -- and for their conversion to the Catholic Faith!
Viva Cristo Rey! Bl. Fr. Miguel Pro, Fr. Emil Kapaun, and Fr. Vincent Capodanno, pray for us...
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle...
St. Joseph, pray for us!!
Gene DeLalla
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