Tragedy struck in Enugu State on Friday when suspected kidnappers killed and shot a Catholic priest in the Eha-Ndiagu community, Eha-Alumonah, Nsukka Local Government Area.
The victim, Rev. Fr. Mathew Eya, was a parish priest of the St. Charles Catholic Church, Eha-Ndiagu. The Catholic Diocese of Nsukka confirmed him dead.
The priest, according to eyewitnesses, was traveling from Enugu direction when attacked along the Eha-Ndiagu road, near a project site where a hospital is being built. The attackers, reportedly on a motorbike, deflated the tyres of his car and then opened several bullets at him at a close range.
While early reports suggested a kidnap attempt, witnesses at the scene insisted that the attack had every characteristic of a planned assassination since the cleric was alone in his car and no abduction took place.
Fr. Eya, who hailed from Ugbaike in Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu State, was described as dedicated priest whose sudden killing made the Nsukka Catholic Diocese grieve.
