The latest move to militarize Zimbabwean society appears an attempt not to reward career military officers who remain loyal to the ruling ZANU-PF party but to exert control over a different group of professionals who have been pressing for reform.

Father Maccalli was serving in a parish in Bomoanga, Niger, when militant extremists from Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin, a branch of al-Qaida in Mali, kidnapped him in September 2018.

President Buhari’s push to corporatize religious houses is causing tension with religious leaders who accuse him of bias against Christians.

The committee also said it hopes the prize will highlight the need to strengthen global solidarity and cooperation in an era of go-it-alone nationalism.

Archbishop Protase Rugambwa, secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, said the release of Father Maccalli as the church is preparing to celebrate World Mission Sunday Oct. 18 “is a great sign of hope for us, for Africa and for the universal church.”

Although Catholics comprise a small percentage of the total population in Sahel, the church is respected by the population "regardless of their faith and is seen as a neutral, objective and nonpolitical actor across the region," said the CRS report, titled "Steps Towards Peace."