Gunmen kill Catholic priest

Some gunmen have killed a Catholic priest in Enugu State, Nigeria’s South-east.

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Witnesses told PREMIUM TIMES that the Catholic priest, Matthew Eya, was shot dead on Friday evening along the Eha-Alumonah–Eha-Ndiagu Road in Nsukka Local Government Area of the state.

Mr Eya, the parish priest of Saint Charles Catholic Church, Eha-Ndiagu, was said to be returning from Enugu Urban when the hoodlums ambushed him.

One of the witnesses, who did not want his name mentioned in the report, said the attackers, who were on a motorcycle, opened fire on the cleric upon sighting his Toyota Camry car.

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“The gunmen first shot at his tyres and deflated them before shooting the reverend father at close range.

“We initially thought they were kidnappers. But, considering that they were only interested in killing the priest, it is clear they were assassins,” he said.

Viral video clip

A video clip, apparently recorded shortly after the attack, has been circulating on Facebook.

The clip seen by PREMIUM TIMES showed the cleric’s ash-coloured Toyota Camry riddled with bullet holes.

The clip also showed the driver’s seat had blood stains while the tyres were deflated. Bullets shattered the window at the driver’s side.

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The Catholic Diocese of Nsukka has confirmed the development.

Cajetan Iyidobi, the chancellor of the diocese, in a statement on Saturday, described the killing of the cleric as “devastating.”

“Shocked to the marrow, it is with crushing pain and sorrow, yet a total submission to the will of the Almighty God and a firm hope in the resurrection of the dead, that I inform you of the tragic death of yet another brother of ours, Rev. Fr. Matthew Eya,” Mr Iyidobi, also a Catholic priest, said in the statement.

The chancellor asked Catholic faithful and all Christians to pray for the repose of the cleric’s soul.

Nigeria’s South-east has been battling with insecurity, which many, especially government officials, attribute to the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). But the separatist group has repeatedly denied its involvement in the attacks.

IPOB is leading the agitation for an independent state of Biafra, which it wants carved out from the South-east and some parts of the South-south Nigeria.