The Catholic Diocese of Auchi on Tuesday announced that a priest attached to its St. Peter Catholic Church, Iviukhua-Agenebode, Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State, Rev. Fr. Philip Ekweli, was kidnapped at the Priest’s Rectory on Monday.
The church, in a statement endorsed by Rev. Fr. Peter Egielewa, Director of Communications for the Diocese, said that Rev. Fr. Ekweli “was violently attacked by gunmen.”
“Doors and windows in both the rectory and church were pulled down, accompanied by gunshots. The local vigilantes engaged the kidnappers in a gun duel. However, due to the superior weapons in possession of the kidnappers, the parish priest, Rev. Fr. Philip Ekweli, was unfortunately taken away along with the major seminarian serving in the parish into the surrounding forests,” the statement added.
This was just as the Edo State Police Command confirmed the incident, adding that one of the suspected kidnappers was killed while four others were arrested.
The Command’s spokesman, Moses Yamu, who confirmed the incident, said that the police responded immediately when the incident was reported.
The Diocese, however, lamented that “At this time, no communication has been had with the abductors yet.
“The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Auchi, Most Rev. Dr Gabriel Dunia, expresses sadness at the frequency at which priests in his Diocese are attacked and kidnapped and that the once peaceful Edo North of the state, which houses the Diocese of Auchi, has become a field of the absurd where kidnappers come in at will and at regular intervals and kidnap people for ransom.
The Catholic Church further lamented that kidnapping had “become a business centre for kidnappers” and called on the government “to address these persistent security challenges in Edo North and other parts of Edo State.”
The Edo State Police Command, while confirming the incident on Tuesday, said that Rev. Father Philip Ekweli and Seminarian Peter Andrew were kidnapped by suspected herders.
The command spokesman, Moses Yamu, in a statement, also said that one of the suspects whose name is unknown was neutralised, and the corpse deposited at the General Hospital Agenebode.
Yamu added that four suspects: Murtala Ibrahim, 32 years; Joshua Joseph, 31 years; Sadiq Sheidu, 35 years; and Sunday Bulus, 28 years, were arrested.
“On 03/03/2025 at about 23:30 hours, the Command received a distress call from a concerned citizen that armed men suspected to be herdsmen stormed St. Peter Catholic Church in Ivukwa Community, Etsako East LGA, abducting Rev. Father Philip Ekweli and Seminarian Peter Andrew.
“The Police initiated a rescue operation involving the ‘Operation Rescue’ teams, vigilantes, and hunters, and swiftly rushed to the scene and engaged the attackers in a gun duel.
“One of the suspects whose name is unknown was neutralised, and the corpse deposited at the General Hospital Agenebode.
“Two pairs of rubber shoes, one button Tecno phone with two sim cards, one power bank, one dagger jacket, a bag containing biscuits and Nescafé beverage, and the sum of N168,850 were recovered in his possession.
“Furthermore, the following suspects; Murtala Ibrahim, 32 years, Joshua Joseph, 31 years, Sadiq Sheidu, 35 years, and Sunday Bulus, 28 years, were arrested.”
Yamu noted that the Commissioner of Police, Betty Otimenyin, has immediately detailed additional teams of the anti-kidnapping unit to join forces with Police Mobile Force personnel alongside their military counterparts in that area, to ensure the unconditional release of the victims and apprehend their abductors.
The Catholic Diocese of Auchi was inaugurated on 22 February 2003, and recently celebrated the twenty-second anniversary of its inauguration.
The church, however, lamented that “in the last 5 years, over 8 of her priests have been kidnapped, with one brutally murdered in 2022.
“The Catholic Diocese of Auchi requests all people of goodwill to join the faithful of the Diocese in prayers so that the abductors release Fr. Ekweli unharmed,” the church pleaded.
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