Kidnapped Enugu Catholic Priest Found Dead in Bush

Residents have found the remains of Reverend Father Clement Rapuluchukwu Ugwu in a bush following his attack and abduction by unidentified gunmen seven days ago.

Rev. Ugwu, the Parish Priest of Parish Priest of Saint Mark Catholic Church, Obinofia Ndiuno, Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State was on Wednesday, taken away in his Prado jeep to an unknown destination.

Following the discovery, the attention of the church was immediately sorted, after which his body was transported to Enugu where a funeral mass was conducted by the Catholic Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Most Reverend Callistus Onaga,

Speaking during the burial of the deceased at the Catholic cemetery in Holy Ghost Cathedral, Enugu state on Tuesday, Father Onaga who lamented the high rate of violent killings in the country, called on the police to fish out the perpetuators of the evil act.

Onaga who expressed regrets that security agencies could not rescue the deceased despite assuring that they were closing in on the kidnappers, instructed Christians to intensified their prayers for the survival of the country.

He said “All is not well in Enugu State. We should not continue to pretend about it while our people are killed every day. Enugu State is not secure again. Criminals have shifted to Enugu State from Anambra while we said that Enugu is most secured.

“When father Ugwu was kidnapped, we reported it to the police and since then I have visited police station three times, yet they kept telling me we are closing on the kidnappers. I doubt they were doing anything because where the deceased body of Fr. Ugwu was found is not up to 20km from his house.” Onga said.

In another development, the Director of Communication, Enugu Catholic Diocese, Father Benjamin Achi, has called on Enugu State government to take action on protecting lives in the state.

However, The Enugu state police is yet to speak on the matter as at the time of filing this report, as all effort to get through to them seems abortive.