‘Praying for his safe return’: Alaska senator reacts to kidnapping of former Alaska priest

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTUU/KTVF) - It has been more than a week since Rev. Alphonsus Afina’s kidnapping by the Jihadist group Boko Haram in Nigeria, and more details are emerging about the event.

The Associated Press reported from Maiduguri, Nigeria, that Afina’s kidnapping took place on June 1 near the country’s border with Cameroon, and that Nigerian Bishop John Bogna Bakeni said he spoke with Afina over the phone the next day, and that Afina sounded like he was in good spirits.

At the time of his kidnapping, Afina was reportedly traveling to Maidiguri when the convoy he was traveling with was ambushed, with one person killed and others wounded in the incident.

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski took to social media on June 5, saying she is praying for Afina.

“No one should be violated or persecuted for their faith, and I join the Fairbanks diocese in praying for his safe return,” Murkowski wrote.

Afina had transferred from Alaska to Nigeria in 2024 in order to bring together a trauma center for those who are victims of Boko Haram.

“There’s not much we can do in the situation that Father Alphonsus is in with the Boko Haram, and as the Bishop said [Tuesday] in his homily, the best thing we can do is pray,” Fath told Alaska’s News Source last week. ”It’s the most powerful thing that we can do at this point; pray for his strength during this time of captivity and persecution, but also you know that he’ll hopefully, God willing, one day be freed.”

During his six and a half years in Alaska, Afina served in a number of locations, including Fairbanks, Nome and Unalakleet.

See a spelling or grammar error? Report it to web@ktuu.com