The Owerri Archdiocesan Catholic Secretariat has confirmed the release of Rev. Fr. John Ubaechu, the kidnapped Parish Priest of the Holy Family Catholic Church, Izombe.
A statement by Rev. Fr. Patrick Mbara, the Archdiocesan Chancellor/Secretary early Thursday morning, disclosed that Ubaechu was released on Wednesday, March 26, 2025.
The clergyman was kidnapped in the evening of Sunday, March 23 at Ejemekuru on his way to Owerri for the annual retreat of priests of the Owerri Archdiocese.
It was also gathered that the kidnappers had demanded N20 million ransom for the release of the priest.
The ransom was increased to N50m by the kidnappers on Tuesday.
But Mbara, in the statement announcing the release of his colleague, was silent on the details concerning the freedom of Ubaechu from captivity.
The statement on the release captioned, “Notification on the release of Rev. Fr. John Ubaechu”, read in part, “I am directed to inform you that our priest, Rev. Fr. John Ubaechu, who was kidnapped on Sunday, March 23, 2025, has been released.
“He regained his freedom from his abductors today March 26, 2025.
“We thank God for his infinite mercy and for answering our prayers. We appreciate your fraternal solidarity and prayers. To God be the glory.”
Reacting to the news of Ubaechu’s release, a parishioner at Holy Family Catholic Church, Izombe, who simply gave his name as Okey, expressed gratitude to God for the freedom of Ubaechu.
“We thank God for the release of Fr. Ubaechu and, at the same time, call on the Imo State Government and security agency to do something about the repeated incidents of violent crimes on the Ejemekuru axis of Izombe/Ogbaku road.
“This same axis where Fr. Ubaechu was kidnapped on Sunday was the same area where Fr. Mathias Opara was kidnapped sometime on May 26, 2023, after attending the burial of the late father of a brother priest in Izombe.
“Apart from the kidnapping of these two priests, several other kidnap and armed robbery cases have been reported around that same spot, suggesting that the criminals have safe routes of escape around there,” Okey said.
He said to forestall further incidents of crime around the axis, a security checkpoint should be established around the place.
