Assassins Shoot Catholic Priest Inside Lagos Church

Ololade Adeyanju/

A Catholic priest survived suspected assassination attempt in Lagos today.

The victim, Rev. Father Daniel Nwankwo, is the priest in charge of St. Thomas Catholic church, Onilekere, Cement Bus Stop, Ikeja.

According to the police, the three assailants had disguised as parishioners and participated in the morning mass before attacking the victim

After the mass ended at about 8.30am, the assailants sought a private audience with the priest and used it as a ploy to lure him outside.

As soon as they got outside, one of the assailants who reportedly said something to the priest in Igbo, brought out a pistol and shot him.

The priest however managed to raise the alarm that attracted the parishioners, who rushed to his aid.

This action forced the assailants to flee the scene by scaling the fence of the premises.

The priest was thereafter taken to the the accident and emergency unit of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja.

Spokesman for the police in Lagos, ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole, issued a statement on Friday to confirm the incident.

He said detectives, who were immediately drafted to the scene, had arrested five suspects in connection with the incident.

Famous-Cole’s statement says: “Today, during early morning mass at St Thomas Catholic Church Onilekere cement bus stop, Ikeja, some hoodlums posing as parishioners took part in the morning mass. After the prayers at about 08:30 in the morning, they requested to have a dialogue with Rev Father Daniel Nwankwo, who granted them audience outside the church auditorium. And for a yet-to-be-determined reason, one of the hoodlums brought out a locally made pistol and shot the Rev Father. The assailants spoke fluent Igbo.

“After the shooting. the Rev Father raised an alarm, while the hoodlums fled the area by jumping the fence towards an adjoining canal. The Rev Father was immediately taken to LASUTH for medical attention, where he is currently being treated and is under stable conditions.”

The statement further discloses that the commissioner of police, Mr. Imohimi Edgal, had visited the scene and spoke with a witness, who confirmed that the three assailants, who were clearly of Igbo background but were not known members of the church, were having a conversation with the victim before he was shot.

It added that Imohimi also visited the victim at the hospital and had a brief chat with him.

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