Two separate attacks carried out by armed militants in central and northwestern Nigeria earlier this week saw one Catholic priest burned alive, another shot multiple times, and five faithful worshippers abducted, leaving many calling into question the country’s security forces’ ability to maintain order with a month to go until general elections are held.
Father Isaac Achi was murdered in the early hours of Monday, January 15th, after a group of armed militants invaded and set alight the parish residence of Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in the village of Kafin-Koro, in Niger State, according to statements made by the state’s police spokesman Wasiu Biodun, Africa News reports.
Local parishes told The Pillar, a news portal that covers the Catholic Church, that Fr. Achi’s body, although eventually found, was “burnt beyond recognition inside the [parish rectory].”
Meanwhile, the Diocese of Minna wrote in a statement: “The rectory was completely burned and the parish priest, the Reverend Father Isaac Achi, was killed while the assistant parish priest Father Colins Omeh was shot but is receiving medical attention.”
The Diocese of Minna has asked for “prayers for God’s mercy” for Fr. Omeh.
From the hospital, Fr. Omeh has recounted the blood-curdling experience to priests in the Diocese of Minna, saying: “The bandits, who were about 15 in number, came fully armed and shooting sporadically in the air shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ [God is great].”
Initially, Fr. Achi was shot in the leg, and Fr. Omeh suffered a gunshot wound to the hand. The two priests, who at that point were being held at gunpoint by the terrorists, started praying together and offered one another the sacrament of confession, Fr. Omeh said. After praying together, Fr. Achi, effectively immobilized from the gunshot wound, urged Fr. Omeh to escape. As Fr. Omeh attempted to flee from the church compound, the terrorists, who continued to shout jihadist slogans, shot Fr. Achi in the chest, while a bullet caught Fr. Omeh in the shoulder as he ran.
A few hours later, in the village of Dan Tsauni, in the northern state of Katsina, armed militants invaded the home of five Catholics readying themselves for Sunday Mass, before going on to take the group hostage.
Katsina’s state police spokesman told AFP: “The terrorists seized five people in the house, shot a priest in hand, and fled with the five hostages.” The priest was rushed to the hospital where he was treated for his injuries, the spokesman added.
While the precise motive for the latest attacks remains unclear, armed groups in the Muslim-dominated north, over the years, have repeatedly targeted rural communities and Christian clerics.
