On the 26 December, 2024, Nigerians received with rude shock the killing of Rev. Fr. Tobias Chukwujekwu Okonkwo. In a statement released by the Chancellor of the Diocese, Father Raphael Ezeogu, said the late priest “was shot dead by unidentified assailants at lhiala along Onitsha-Owerri Expressway around 7 p.m.”  According to reports, Father Tobias, a pharmacist and native of Ekwulumili in Nnewi South Local Government Area, was Manager of the respective schools of nursing, midwifery, and medical laboratory at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital Ihiala.

Born in August 1984, Fr Okonkwo was ordained a priest in July 2015. Nigeria has been battling a surge of violence orchestrated by gangs whose members carry out indiscriminate attacks, kidnapping for ransom, and, in some cases, killing. Boko Haram, a group that allegedly aims to turn Africa’s most populous nation into an Islamic nation, has been a major challenge in the country since 2009.

What has been the sin of the Catholic Church all over the world especially in Nigeria that it has to be the subject of attack by assassins?  If I may ask “what sin have Nigerian Priests committed that most times they are being targeted?”  Is it a sin to be a Priest in Nigeria? Nigeria is a secular state according to the constitution but it appears security issues are getting worse by the day.  As a secular state it means you have the right to choose the religion that best appeals to you. Who will save us from these wanton killings of Catholic Priests?

When we were young, we were made to understand that the safest occupation to choose is the Priesthood. But it is like this is no longer true because Nigerian Catholic Priests are now subjected to wanton killings by unidentified bandits. These killings signaled that no one is safe in a country where the government continues to deceive the people that all is well. 

Priests are special people and the intermediary between God and the people. Priests do not have money, so it is uncalled for to kidnap a priest because of unwarranted excuses or reasons. Priests are very much respected and honoured by the lay faithful; so if these things can happen to them, what happens to the flock they are shepherding. Priests are filled with the gift of the Holy Spirit hence they have been raised to the rank of the priesthood. Priests are worthy men of God and they proclaim the Gospel of God’s kingdom, to fulfill the ministry of the word of truth, to offer the spiritual gifts and sacrifices, to renew the people by the bath of rebirth; all these they do so that they may go out to meet our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, the only Son. These are the worthy functions of the Catholic Priest; they are not rich men but rich in the spirit. 

So, why do detractors go after their lives? These terrorists have lost it and drastic action is needed to end this ongoing carnage. It should be said that enough of these attacks and wanton killings of innocent Catholic Priests and Nigerians in general.

As the Catholic community mourns the loss of this dedicated priest, they take comfort in the statement: ‘Where sorrow increases, divine consolation increases all the more’. The murdered priest was a pharmacist who worked in several institutions, including Manager of the respective Schools of Nursing, Midwifery, and Medical Laboratory at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Ihiala. The news about the killing of the Catholic priest talks about grisly and egregious human rights violations and abuses: Mass and targeted killings and property burnings outside the law, body lacerations, abductions, disappearances, torture and other inhuman or degrading treatments or punishments and security sector duty-post corruption particularly military, police and paramilitary roadblocks and barracks extortions and other atrocities by armed non-state actors.

The news further accuses the Nigerian armed forces of involvement in false labelling, ethno-religious profiling, class stigmatization, mass criminalization, hearsay conclusions, discriminatory law enforcements, criminalization of civil wrongs and civil conducts, re-criminalization and conversion of simple offenses and misdemenanors into violent offenses of ‘terrorism’, insurgency, insurrection, treason and treasonable felonies, often using IPOB/ESN/Biafra terrorism as a pretext.

Nigeria is in the middle of security crises, with the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast, militancy in the Niger Delta and frequent herder clashes with local farmers in the Middle Belt region, which have all claimed thousands of lives over the years. The government has come under immense criticism for not doing enough to protect the citizens even as security personnel are undertrained and poorly funded.  It shows that the government of Bola Tinubu has a lot of work to do and this puts a big question on their credibility as leaders because if the people voted for you, you should be able to provide adequate security for them. There is also the proliferation of guns linking to kidnapping and assassination, this is a sign that there is no security in the country and the government is doing virtually nothing to protect the citizens.

The level of insecurity in Nigeria is becoming worrisome because our priests are attacked daily. Catholic Priests have been facing attack by people who have lost their sense of reasoning, people who think they have no name to protect, people who see blood-letting as ordinary, people who pick happiness in the murder of their fellow human beings and people who dare God.  I call them “animals” in human skin.

The number of Catholic Priests being martyred today surpasses that of the first century. The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria and the Christian Association of Nigeria which brings together the various Christian denominations in the country have often condemned attacks and kidnapping of priests in Nigeria.  It seems the condemnation of these heinous acts will not bring any permanent solution to these problems.  Priests are soft targets because people know that they cannot easily defend themselves and this exposes them to the kidnappers and assassins.

For instance, a soldier or a policeman with guns is more difficult to abduct because you will have to struggle with him to dislodge his firearms, but a priest celebrating Mass at the altar does not have a gun and cannot defend himself.

We will continue to call the attention of the government and well-meaning Nigerians to help find solution to this unabated problem in Nigeria. The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) should prevail on President Bola Tinubu and our leaders in the Federal and State Governments to wake up, sit up, and secure lives and properties all over Nigeria. How many more priests must die? Does life really have any value any more with these killings of innocent priests? Is the glaring weakness and helplessness of our security agencies ill or deliberate? It is very certain that things cannot continue this way.  Why the attack on Catholic Priests? May the soul of Rev. Fr. Tobias Chukwujekwu Okonkwo and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace, Amen.

God Bless Nigeria!!!