An armed group burned alive a priest inside a parish residence in Nigeria

A group of armed men killed a Catholic priest in north-central Nigeria on Sunday. Done setting fire to the parish residence from the church of Saints Peter and Paul, in Kafin-Koro, in the Paikoro region, where Father Isaac Achi was taking refuge from the attack. A second priest who lived in the same place was shot in the shoulder but managed to escape.

“At approximately 03:00 local time (02:00 GMT), armed gunmen stormed the parish residence of a reverend, Father Isaac Achi of St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church,” said Wasiu Abiodun, spokesman for the state police of the Niger. by the Nigerian newspaper Premium Times.

And he added: “Unfortunately the bandits they tried to enter the residence, but had difficulty and set fire to the house, while the reverend father was burned to death”.

“Father Isaac’s lifeless body was recovered while Father Collins (Omeh) was rushed to hospital for treatment,” the spokesman said.

In June of last year, at least 50 people, including several children, were killed in the Catholic church of San Francisco, located in the city of Owo, in the southwest of the country, during an attack that took place while morning mass was being celebrated.

On that occasion, a group of five armed men entered the parish, kidnapped the priest and started shooting at various people. After the bloody scene, survivors pointed out that the attackers detonated an explosive inside the venue. Then they went out and put an end to the massacre by shooting people around the temple.

A month later, Father John Mark Chietnum was killed after being kidnapped in northwestern Kaduna state.

The insecurity is on the rise in recent months in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation.

The problems of violence are of various nature and range from the fight against jihadism and episodes of intercommunal violence to mass kidnappings in the centre-north and north-west of the country. The latter acts are carried out by armed men – known in the country as “bandits” – who seek lucrative ransoms.

The priest’s assassination drew local and international condemnation

The president of the Christian Association of Nigeria in the state of Niger, Bulu Yohanna, condemned the murder of the priest, called for an investigation and called on the Nigerian government and security agencies to stop the wave of violence across the Village.

“Already enough of the gratuitous attacks and murders of innocent Nigerian citizens. One of the main responsibilities of government is to protect the life and property of its governed,” she said.

Niger state governor Abubakar Sani Bello said the killing points to it no one was safe. “These terrorists have gone mad and drastic action is needed to end this ongoing carnage,” she said.

For its part, the Christian Association of Nigeria has called on the authorities to investigate and do more to protect civilians. No more senseless attacks and killings of innocent Nigerian citizens, said Bulus Yohanna, president of the association.

Meanwhile, in a statement, Antonio Tajani, Italy’s foreign minister, called the attack cowardly and inhumane.

Five women kidnapped in northwestern Nigeria

At least five women were abducted on Sunday by armed men after being attacked when they went to church in Katsina state in northwest Nigeria, police confirmed today.

Gambo Isa, a police spokesman in Katsina state, said in a statement that the attackers tthey also shot a shepherd during the attack that took place in the town of Maitsauni, located in the district of Kankara.

“On January 15, 2023, at around 0700 local time (0600 GMT), a distress call was received reporting that several terrorists, sporadically firing AK47 rifles, had invaded the village of Maitsauni,” said the spokesman.

In addition to indicating that among the kidnapped there are two minors aged 13 and 15, he added: “The terrorists shot a pastor in the hand and kidnapped five women who were preparing to go to church for Sunday services”.

Isa said police were tracking the gunmen to arrest them, adding that the pastor had been taken to hospital for treatment.

However, a resident, Lawal Shuaibu, confirmed that the gunmen had kidnapped more than 15 people. “This morning, gunmen attacked Kankara New Life Church during church services and kidnapped more than 15 worshipers,” Shuaibu said by telephone.

“A distress call was sent to the police, but the attackers had fled into the forest with the victims before their arrival,” he added, confirming that the pastor is being treated at the hospital.

Another attack on a religious institution in Congo, with 10 dead

This was assured today by the army of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). a bomb exploded in a church North Kivu province, causing at least 10 deaths and 39 injuries.

The details of the attack are still unclear, but military spokesman Antony Mualushayi said so “terrorist act” it took place in a Pentecostal church in the North Kivu town of Kasindi, which sits on the border with neighboring Uganda.

After the blast, he added, a Kenyan national was arrested, but it was unclear whether he was the perpetrator.

The Democratic Republic ofCongo is the country that Pope Francis will visit from January 31stbefore going to South Sudan, but who, however, due to the advance of the guerrillas, no longer included a stopover in Goma, the capital of North Kivu, in the new travel programme.

On the second day in Kinshasa, however, a meeting of the Pope “with the victims of the east of the country” is scheduled at the Apostolic Nunciature.

With agency information.

IS