A wave of grief has hit the Catholic community in Enugu State following the brutal killing of Rev. Fr. Mathew Eya, parish priest of St. Charles Catholic Church, Eha-Ndiagu, Eha-Alumonah, Nsukka Local Government Area.
The tragic incident occurred on Friday evening as the cleric was returning from Enugu, the state capital. According to eyewitnesses, unidentified gunmen riding on a motorcycle ambushed the priest’s vehicle near the site of an ongoing Type C hospital project.
The assailants reportedly shot at the tyres of his car, forcing it to a halt, before approaching and firing several shots at him at close range.
One local source, quoted by Daily Post, said the attack appeared to be an assassination rather than a kidnap attempt.
“They first disabled the vehicle by shooting at the tyres. Then they walked up to him and shot multiple times. It didn’t look like an attempt to abduct him,” the source explained.
Fr. Eya, a native of Ugbaike in Enugu Ezike, Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area, was reportedly driving alone when the attack happened.
Efforts to get an official response from the Enugu State Police Command were unsuccessful as calls to the Command’s spokesperson, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, went unanswered. Neither the police nor the Catholic Diocese of Nsukka had issued a statement at the time of this report.
The murder has heightened concerns about rising insecurity in the state, particularly targeted attacks on clergymen in recent months.
