BREAKING: Fear Grips Katsina Residents as Gunmen Kidnap Catholic Priest, Kill Another Cleric
- Two priests of St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church Malunfashi were kidnapped on Thursday, May 20
- One of the priests, Rev. Fr. Alphonsus Bello, was killed by the attackers
- The terrible incident was confirmed by the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria on Friday, May 21
- This is the umpteenth time clerics have been kidnapped and killed by gunmen in northern Nigeria
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Gunmen in Kastina on Thursday, May 20, killed a Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Alphonsus Bello, and abducted another cleric, Fr. Joe Keke, at St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church Malunfashi, in the state.
Eyewitnesses told journalists that the attackers stormed the Catholic parish with gunshots which injured many persons on the night of Thursday, Vanguard reports.
According to The Nation, the sad news was confirmed by Padre Mike Umoh, the national social communications director, Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria.
Source: Twitter
Umoh, reporting the tragedy, said:
"Two priests were kidnapped, Frs. Joe Keke and Alphonsus Bello. Fr Keke, the former parish priest, is in his late 70s while Fr. Bello, the current parish priest, is in his 30s.
“This morning the body of Fr Alphonsus Bello was found lifeless in the farmland behind the Catechetical Training School, Malunfashi. However, the whereabouts of Fr. Joe Keke is still unknown. No contact has been made thus far.”
Meanwhile, gunmen suspected to be kidnappers abducted Mayomi Ogedengbe, a pastor of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry, on Monday, May 10.
The hoodlums whisked the cleric away after they invaded his church in Irese, a community near Akure, Ondo state capital.
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The spokesperson of Ondo state police command, Tee-Leo Ikoro, confirmed the development in a statement.
An eyewitness giving an account of the incident said the kidnappers came in a black Corolla Sports car and took the pastor away to an unknown destination.
The whereabouts of Ogedengbe, a retired director in the Ministry of Education in Ondo state remained unknown. His abductors are yet to reach out to the family to make any ransom demand to secure his release.
Source: Legit.ng
