Gunmen murder Catholic priest in Nsukka.

What appears like a terror attack in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State has set the Roman Catholic Church off- balance following the murder of a Roman Catholic priest in the community. The priest whose name was given as Rev. Father Matthew Eya according to sources, was murdered by yet to be apprehended gunmen along the Eha-Alumona Eha Ndiagu Road in Nsukka.

The sad incident which attracted a lot of sympathy from the Catholic Church happened on Friday, September 20, 2025. Some parishioners who got hint of the news shortly after the murder of the Catholic cleric, reportedly rushed to St. Charles Catholic Church in Eha-Ndiagu, the parish of the late priest to confirm the incident.

According to some sources, the killers of Rev. Fr. Matthew Eya operated on a motorcycle when they got hold of the cleric and fired him at a very close range while he was driving home from an engagement.

Umuaka Times investigations showed that from 2012 till date, the Roman Catholic Church in Nigeria has lost over 3,500 of her members through various terror attacks targeted at the church across the country. A total number of 39 Catholic priests have been killed, 30 abducted and 17 catechists killed.

On December 26, 2024, Rev. Father Tobias Okonkwo was shot dead by gunmen along the Onitsha-Owerri Expressway in Anambra State. On January 15, 2023, Rev. Father Isaac Achi was burnt alive by suspected terrorists in Kafin-Koro in Minna Diocese, Niger State. His assistant priest was shot but he miraculously survived.

On March 30, 2021, during a terror attack at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Benue State, Rev. Father Ferdinand Fanen Ngugban was shot dead and six others were also killed in the incident.

From an exclusive document Umuaka Times obtained last week, Aid to the Church in Need International, a humanitarian organization reported that nearly 150 Catholic priests were kidnapped in Nigeria over the past decade, with 11 killed and 4 still missing. The report went further to establish that Owerri Diocese suffered the highest number of kidnappings with 47 cases, followed by Onitsha with 30 cases and Kaduna with 24 cases.

Another report disclosed that over 200 Catholic priests and seminarians had been kidnapped across 26 dioceses in Nigeria in the last 10 years, with at least 20 killed.

Okigwe Diocese had the highest number of kidnappings with 24 cases, followed by Port Harcourt Diocese with 14 cases. CSN Media reports that 201 Catholic priests and seminarians have so far been kidnapped, with 186 released, 15 killed and none currently in captivity. Okigwe Diocese also documented the highest number of kidnappings with 47 priests abducted.

Umuaka Times gathered that some of the dioceses least affected by kidnapping incidents in the country over the years include: Ibadan: 2 cases of kidnapping, all released. Calabar: 4 cases of kidnapping, all released as well and Lagos with zero cases of kidnapping.