Gunmen Assassinate Catholic Priest in Enugu State

A Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Mathew Eya, was shot dead on Friday evening in Eha-Ndiagu community, Eha-Alumonah, Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State. The cleric, who served as parish priest of St. Charles Catholic Church, was returning from Enugu, the state capital, when gunmen intercepted his vehicle near the site of an ongoing Type C hospital project.

Eyewitnesses said the assailants, who rode on a motorcycle, first shot at the tyres of the priest’s car to force it to a halt before firing multiple rounds at him at close range. Accounts from locals suggest the attack appeared to be an assassination rather than a kidnapping attempt.

Fr. Eya, a native of Ugbaike in Enugu Ezike, Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area, was reportedly driving alone when the attack occurred. Both the police and the Catholic Diocese of Nsukka have yet to issue an official statement on the killing.