MILAN (AP) — Italy's foreign minister says an Italian priest kidnapped last week in Nigeria has been freed and is in good shape.

The Rev. Maurizio Pallu was released late Tuesday, five days after being kidnapped in Benin City. Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano told Italian Radio Capital on Wednesday that the priest was returning to the Nigerian capital of Abuja, where he has been working for the last three years.

In an interview on Vatican radio, Pallu said he was kidnapped with two Nigerians and all three were released together.

There were no immediate details on the identity of the captors or the circumstances of the release.

Pallu says he has been kidnapped twice in the last year but hoped to continue working in Nigeria "because you defeat the demons by staying here."