A Nigerian priest has been shot dead in Benin City just a year into his ministry, his bishop has confirmed.
Archbishop Augustine Obiora Akubeze of Benin announced that Fr Charles Onomhoale Igechi was murdered during the course of his pastoral duties two months before the first anniversary of his priestly ordination.
He said: “With great shock we received the news this morning that he was shot on his way back to his place of assignment.
“The appropriate security agency has been informed and they are presently working on the case,” he said, adding: “We pray that the perpetrators of this evil act will be brought to the face of justice.”
According to Catholic News Agency, the archbishop also appealed for prayers for the repose of the soul of the priest, who was ordained on August 13 last year and was serving as the vice principal of St. Michael College, Ikhueniro.
“May God continue to guide and protect all the faithful in the Archdiocese of Benin City and may the soul of Rev. Father Charles Igechi find peace and tranquility in the loving embrace of our risen Savior,” he said.
The Catholic Church in Nigeria is presently enduring repeated episodes of horrific violence which observers say is tantamount to a persecution.
The week before Fr Igechi was shot, Fr Stanislaus Mbamara, a priest in Nnewi Diocese, was abducted but was later released.
In May, Father Matthias Opara of the Archdiocese of Owerri was abducted while returning from a funeral but was released on Pentecost Sunday.
Father Jude Kingsley Maduka, a priest serving in Okigwe Diocese, was also kidnapped and freed after three days of captivity.
Among the worst attacks was the slaughter of 41 people by Islamists who attacked St Francis Xavier’s Catholic Church in Owo, south-west Nigeria in June last year during Mass.
A year on from the attack, Bishop Jude Arogundade of Ondo called for “sober reflection on how far we are ready to go to protect human life and its dignity and sanctity as a nation”.
The bishop told Aid to the Church in Need that people often say “time heals and we should move on by committing the memory of the victims to history”.
He said it is important to mark the anniversary of the massacre, however, by continuing “to remind the world of the evil of terrorism and the long-time effects it has on people”.
In spite of the failure to catch the attackers, the bishop remained committed to urging those in positions of power to take the necessary steps to prevent similar tragedies.
Aid to the Church in Need UK has organised a petition asking the British government to call on its Nigerian counterparts to bring to justice those responsible for the Owo massacre and many other killings and abductions of Christians in the country.
Fiona Bruce MP, the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, is receiving the petition on the first anniversary of the attack.
(Photograph of Fr Charles Onomhoale Igechi courtesy of CNA)
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