Tension has enveloped Enugu State following the brutal killing of a Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Matthew Eya, by unidentified gunmen.
The tragic incident occurred on Friday evening along the Eha-Alumona–Eha-Ndiagu Road in Nsukka Local Government Area. Until his death, Fr. Eya was the parish priest of St. Charles Catholic Church, Eha-Ndiagu.
Initial reports suggested that the attack may have been a kidnapping attempt, with claims that some passengers were abducted after the assailants opened fire. However, community sources insist the killing bore the hallmarks of a targeted assassination.
According to eyewitnesses, the priest was driving alone when armed men on motorcycles ambushed him near the ongoing Type C hospital project.
“They shot and deflated his tyres, forcing him to stop. Then they approached and fired multiple rounds at close range. This doesn’t look like a kidnapping,” one source told journalists.
Fr. Eya, a native of Ugbaike in Enugu Ezike, Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area, was widely described as a devoted and humble cleric.
Confirming the incident, the Chancellor of the Catholic Diocese of Nsukka, Rev. Fr. Cajetan Iyidobi, expressed deep grief in a statement:
“Shocked to the marrow, it is with crushing pain and sorrow, yet with total submission to the will of Almighty God and firm hope in the resurrection of the dead, that I inform you of the tragic death of our brother, Rev. Fr. Matthew Eya. He was shot dead yesterday, September 19, 2025, along the Eha-Alumona–Eha-Ndiagu Road. Let us remain steadfast in prayer that God sees us through this period of anguish. May his soul rest in peace. Amen.”
