The police in Enugu State, Nigeria’s South-east, say they have arrested 38 suspects in the killing of Matthew Eya, a Catholic priest in the state.
Daniel Ndukwe, the police spokesperson in the state, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday evening.
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The killing
PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that some gunmen shot dead Mr Eya, the parish priest of Saint Charles Catholic Church, Eha-Ndiagu, on Friday evening along the Eha-Alumonah–Eha-Ndiagu Road in Nsukka Local Government Area of the state.
He was said to be returning from Enugu Urban when the hoodlums ambushed him.
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The slain cleric was a member of the Nsukka Catholic Diocese.
The Enugu State Government, on Saturday, placed a N10 million bounty on the killers of the Catholic priest.
Arrest
In the Sunday statement, Mr Ndukwe, a superintendent of police, said the Commissioner of Police in Enugu State, Bitrus Giwa, has ordered operatives to intensify the manhunt for the “armed men who shot and murdered” the cleric.
He said Mr Giwa had earlier, upon receipt of information about the attack, ordered the area commander in Udenu Police Command, alongside heads of tactical units, to fish out the fleeing assailants.
“Consequently, police operatives under the Udenu Area Command’s coverage have arrested 38 suspects, following bush combing and raids of different black spots in the area.
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“Incriminating exhibits were recovered, while the suspects are currently undergoing screening,” the police spokesperson said without mentioning their names.
Mr Giwa, according to the statement, has commiserated with the immediate family of the deceased cleric and the Catholic Church.
The commissioner reaffirmed the commitment of the police in the state to ensure that the killers were tracked down.
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