A Catholic priest has been burnt to death on Sunday after bandits set fire to his parish rectory in northern Nigeria.
According to report by the Catholic News Agency, Rome, the body of Father Isaac Achi was found among the charred parish building of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church on Jan. 15, according to the Catholic Diocese of Minna, Nigeria.
He died after armed bandits attacked the priest’s residence in the village of Kafin Koro at 3 a.m.
Another priest at the rectory, Father Collins Omeh, escaped the building, but sustained gunshot wounds and is being treated in a hospital.
Alhaji Sani Bello Abubakar, the governor of the Nigerian state of Niger where the attack took place, described the attack as “ungodly and inhumane” and directed the local security agencies to pursue the attackers, according to The Daily Post.
“This is a sad moment, for a priest to be killed in such a manner means that we are not all safe, these terrorists have lost it, and drastic action is needed to end this ongoing carnage,” Bello said.
Achi served as the parish priest of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church where he died. He was also the chairman of his local branch of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
“May the soul of very Reverend Father Isaac Achi and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in perfect peace,” the Diocese of Minna said in a statement shared by the Nigeria Catholic Network.
Meanwhile, the Police in Niger said they had deployed reinforcements to track the suspected killers of Rev. Fr. Issac Achi.
In a statement on Sunday issued by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Wasiu Abiodun, the Police Spokesman in the state, he stated that, “On 15/01/2023 at about 0300hrs, armed bandits invaded the Parish residence of one Rev. Father Isaac Achi of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church along Daza road, Kafin-Koro, Paikoro Local Government Area.
“Unfortunately, the bandits reportedly attempted to gain entrance into the residence, but seems difficult and set the house ablaze, while the said Rev. Father was burned to death.
“A colleague of the Rev. Father, identified as Father Collins, was equally shot on the shoulder while trying to escape from the scene.
“The Commissioner of Police, Niger State Command, Ogundele Ayodeji had dispatched a reinforcement team to the area and effort is ongoing to apprehend the assailants as investigation into the unfortunate attack has commenced.”
He explained that the police tactical teams attached to Kaffin-Koro Division were immediately drafted to the scene, but the hoodlums had escaped before the arrival of the team.
Abiodun said that the lifeless body of late Isaac was recovered while Father Collins was taken to the hospital for treatment.
