Father Alphonsus Afina, safe at home after spending 51 days in Boko Haram captivity. Photo provided.
On June 1, one of CSI’s project partners in Nigeria, Father Daniel Aphonsus Afina, was abducted by Boko Haram terrorists. 51 days later, on July 21, he was released, and returned to his diocese in Maiduguri, where he was able to rest and receive medical care.
Now, he is sharing his story. Although he is still resting after his ordeal, he has taken the time to write down his experience, so that his many supporters around the world can read it.
What follows are, in his words, his experience of captivity.
Gunfight and abduction
On June 1, 2025, Father Alphonsus was driving from Mubi in Adamawa state to Maiduguri in Borno state, for a workshop put on by the Maiduguri Diocese’s Justice, Development and Peace Commission (JDPC). “3 hours into the journey, shortly after the military checkpoint at Limankara, we ran into an explosive,” Father Alphonsus writes.
The explosion was followed by the sound of gunshots. “Armed men came out of the roadside bushes shooting at us. In the confusion of the moment, I abandoned my vehicle on the road and ran backward.”
There were also several buses on the road. They stopped, and their passengers and drivers got off and ran in all directions. Some other vehicles which were farther behind made a U-turn and drove back toward the checkpoint, where they found themselves caught in the crossfire between the soldiers manning the checkpoint and the armed attackers. “I ran for a few minutes toward the military checkpoint I had passed earlier on.”
As Father Alphonsus ran, armed men came after him on motorcycles, forcing him at gunpoint to stop. They stripped him of all his valuables, including his wristwatch, some cash, and both of his phones. They forced Father Alphonsus to give them his phone passwords. Then they put him on a motorcycle, seated between two armed men.
Father Alphonsus beaten; others killed
His captors drove Father Alphonsus back to the vehicle he had been driving. He saw that they had looted it of all the valuables inside, including computer equipment, but also his priestly implements for performing mass.
That is when the violence began. “Upon reaching the vehicle, the armed men started beating me, and as a result, I sustained an eye injury with blood dripping from my face into my eye and running down my shoulder. My eye was swollen and discharged liquid for three weeks.”
Several people managed to escape the attack, while others were killed, including a JDPC staff member, Mr. Zion Japhet.
In captivity
The armed men drove Father Alphonsus’ car and three other vehicles into the bush. Fr. Alphonsus sat in the back seat with two other captives, while two armed men sat in front, and more sat in the trunk.
When they reached the foot of Gwoza mountain, there was another gun battle between the armed men and Nigerian soldiers. After that, the armed men forced Father Alphonsus and their 13 other captives out of the cars, and set the cars on fire. The captives were taken on foot up the mountain.
“While in captivity, I slept in the same room with 4 other captives with armed men on guard,” Fr. Alphonsus writes. “3 weeks into my captivity, there was a military operation with airstrikes and artillery bombardment on the location where we were being held. Ever since, I found it difficult to sleep because of the fear of being killed. This is still the situation as I write of this.”
Health concerns after release
After Father Alphonsus’ release on July 21, his colleagues took him to the hospital to be examined. He is now on medication for several illnesses he acquired while in captivity. His eye is still injured from his beating. He is scheduled to have surgery to repair the damage.
In his account, Father Alphonsus expresses thanks to the priests and laypeople in Maiduguri Diocese, as well as Fairbanks, Alaska, in the United States, where we served for a number of years. He also thanks his “friends, all well-wishers all over the world, and those who are instrumental for my release.”
“I felt the effects of the prayers offered for me all over the world in the way the armed men from Boko Haram treated me” after his initial abduction, Father Alphonsus writes. “I am above all, grateful to God for sparing my life through this frightening experience.”
Christian Solidarity International joins Father Alphonsus in thanking God for his safe return. We offer our prayers for his complete healing, for his eye to be restored, and for Fr. Alphonsus to be able to sleep in safety. We also pray for comfort for the family of Zion Japhet, who was killed by Boko Haram during the attack in which Fr. Alphonsus was kidnapped.
