Rev. Father Paul Ofu of the Enugu Diocese of the Catholic Church was Thursday evening killed by gunmen along the Awgu section of the Enugu-Port Harcourt highway which in recent months has become a feasting ground for bandits.

He was caught in a hail of bullets which mutilated his body. In March this year, gunmen killed a Catholic priest, Reverend Father Clement Ugwu, who was said to have been kidnapped from his Parish, St Mark Catholic Church, Obinofia Ndiuno in Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State.

The body of late Fr. Ugwu was found in a bush decomposing, a week after he was allegedly kidnapped.

Mr Ogbuagu Anikwe, a senior editor and Commissioner for Information in the state during the immediate past tenure of  Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi lamented thus on the death of Rev Ofu on his Facebook page;

“Sometimes, you get so confused about things you do not really know how to react. The Awgu sector of Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway, including the villages around the highway, is now a hotbed of terrorist activities.

“Here in this picture is Rev. Father Paul Ofu, one-time parish priest of my home parish, mercilessly executed this evening. He joins a growing list of our people who are daily being assaulted in the farms, and motorists being robbed and kidnapped between Awgu and Nkanu stretch of this highway. The herdsmen are implicated. In some other instances, it is home grown bandits. In all cases, everyone is terrified but I guess a point has been reached when the people will rise up and defend themselves, defend their means of livelihood (their farms) and defend their dignity.

“Rest in peace, man of God, Father Ofu. I have a picture of your bullet-riddled and dirtied body but I cannot further debase your memory and traumatise people by posting it here.

“May your needless death not be in vain, but provide everyone the courage to act to restore peace to our beloved home. God will surely hear us as we cry unto Him.”

The abduction of Catholic priests is gradually becoming a daily thing in Enugu State. On July 4, 2018, Rev. Fr. Paulinus Udewangu of St. Marks Catholic Church, Nsude in Udi Local Government Area was kidnapped while he was jogging