Kidnapped priest appears in Niger militants’ video

An Italian priest who was kidnapped in Niger in September 2018 has appeared in a video made by Islamist militants. If genuine, it marks the first proof of life since his abduction. 

59-year-old Catholic priest Pier Luigi Maccalli appears in the video wearing grey clothes and with a long white beard. 

Communications officer for the Catholic mission in Niger Thomas Codjovi told reporters that it is the first piece of evidence they have received that Fr Maccalli is alive. 

The priest disappeared after armed men arrived in the village of Bomoanga, where he was staying, and abducted him. 

Fr Maccalli had lived in Niger for 11 years at that point. The Catholic Society of African Missions said he had been actively promoting the development of education, healthcare and the training of young farmers in the Niger’s southwest Gourmancé area.

Militant Islamists are known to be active near Niger’s borders with Mali and Burkina Faso. 

Photo: Sky TG24