Pope Francis is worried over the rising kidnappings in Nigeria, describing them as “concerning”.

He is also praying that efforts to contain the menace yield fruit “as much as possible”.

The increasingly frequent kidnappings in Nigeria are extremely concerning. I express my closeness in prayer to the Nigerian people, hoping that efforts will be made to contain the spread of these incidents as much as possible.

“The increasingly frequent kidnappings in Nigeria are extremely concerning. I express my closeness in prayer to the Nigerian people, hoping that efforts will be made to contain the spread of these incidents as much as possible,” he wrote on his X accounnt on Sunday.

His comment comes on the heels of the rising cases of kidnapping in several parts of Nigeria.

Abductors have laid siege to many parts of the country, kidnapping people for ransom. Some others have also been killed by the abductors, prompting police authorities in Nigeria to launch a crackdown on the criminals.