Gunmen have killed Rev. Fr. Tobias Okonkwo, a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Nnewi, Anambra State.
According to a statement released on Friday by Rev. Fr. Raphael Ezeogu, Chancellor of the Diocese, Fr. Okonkwo was shot by unidentified assailants on Thursday evening along the Onitsha-Owerri Expressway in Ihiala.
““The Catholic Diocese of Nnewi announces, with sorrow but with stronger faith, that our dear Rev. Fr. Tobias Chukwujekwu Okonkwo died yesterday, 26th December 2024,” the statement reads.
“He was shot dead by unidentified assailants at Ihiala, along the Onitsha-Owerri Expressway, around 7 pm and 8 pm.”
Fr. Okonkwo, who was born on August 11, 1984, was ordained a Catholic priest on July 11, 2015. At the time of his death, he was serving as the manager of the Schools of Nursing, Midwifery, and Medical Laboratory at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Ihiala.
The Diocese expressed grief over the loss and called for prayers for the repose of his soul. Funeral arrangements will be announced later.
