Gunmen have killed a Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Mathew Eya, in Eha-Ndiagu community, Eha-Alumonah, Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State.
Fr. Eya, who was the parish priest of St. Charles Catholic Church, was attacked on Friday evening while returning from Enugu.
According to sources, the attackers, who were on a motorcycle, stopped his car near the site of an ongoing Type C hospital project.
They first shot at his car tyres to force him to stop, then fired several bullets at him at close range.
Some people believe the incident may have been a kidnapping attempt, but others said it looked more like an assassination because the priest was alone in the car and was not abducted.
One source said:
“He was coming back from Enugu when the gunmen on a motorbike followed him. They shot at his tyres, the car stopped, and then they came closer and shot him many times. It doesn’t look like a kidnapping case.”
The late priest was from Ugbaike, Enugu Ezike, in Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area.
As of the time of this report, neither the police nor the Catholic Diocese of Nsukka had made an official statement on the killing.