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Catholic priest kidnapped from his parish, found dead

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A Catholic priest, Reverend Father Clement Ugwu, who was kidnapped from his Parish, St Mark Catholic Church, Obinofia Ndiuno, Enugu State, has been found dead.

His decomposing body was found in a bush on Wednesday morning, a week after he was kidnapped.

Ugwu was kidnapped from his parish house at St. Mark’s Catholic Church, Obinofia, Ndiuno in Ezeagu local government area of Enugu State on March 13, at about 9:00p.m.

The gunmen that kidnapped him, it was gathered, had shot at him before taking him away in his Prado SUV in a pool of his blood.

A casket bearing his body was brought to the Holy Ghost Cathedral Church, Ogui Enugu, where a funeral mass was conducted in his honour by the Catholic Bishop of the Diocese, Most Rev. Callistus Onaga.

Speaking shortly after his body was laid to rest at the Catholic cemetery, Bishop Onaga called on the police to fish out the priest’s killers. He decried the spate of violent killings in the country, advising that Christians should intensify their prayers for security and survival of Nigeria.

He regretted that security agencies could not rescue Fr. Ugwu despite their assurances that they were closing in on the kidnappers, alleging that while he was held in captivity, his abductors were making withdrawals from his account using his Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card.

He said:

“All is not well in Enugu State. We should not continue to pretend about it while our people are killed everyday. Criminals have shifted to Enugu from Anambra. When Fr. Ugwu was kidnapped, we reported it to the police and since then I visited the station three times yet they kept telling me we are closing in on the kidnappers. I doubt they were doing anything because the deceased body was found not up to 20km from his house.”

Also speaking, the Director of Communications of the Diocese, Rev. Fr. Benjamin Achi, called on the state government to live up to its responsibility in protecting lives and property.

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