TELL Magazine

One of the kidnappers who abducted and killed Rev. Fr. Christopher Odia, Parish Priest of St. Michael Catholic Church, Ikhabigbo, Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State on Sunday, has been apprehended, just as the mass servant earlier reported to have died from gunshot wounds has reportedly survived.

The lucky mass servant who was said to have been shot in the stomach and rushed to the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital (ISTH) where he was operated on, pulled through after all.

TELL gathered that the arrest of one of the kidnappers was made possible by some brave youths who chased the kidnappers into the bush. Several persons were said to have been injured in the course of the bloody confrontation, one of them a woman reportedly hit by a stray bullet.

According to a reliable source in the community, “Our boys pursued the kidnappers into the bush and they killed one of our boys, but the mass servant who was shot is in Otibhor (ISTH) right now, and he just came out of the theatre and he survived it.

“It was the vigilante that died. Our boys went after them and were able to arrest one of the kidnappers who has confessed to the crime and he is presently at the Area Command of the Police in Auchi.

“After the incident, our boys surrounded the area and they started shooting anybody. They even shot a woman that was coming from the farm after they killed the vigilante member. They shot so many people. Everybody in our village is a warrior. When they killed the vigilante, the people mobilised and started pursuing the kidnappers with their bare hands.”

Until his death, Fr. Odia, 41, was the Administrator of St Michael Catholic Church, Ikabigbo, and also the Principal of St. Philip Catholic Secondary School, Jattu.

Edo State Command of the Nigerian Police Force has confirmed the incident. Spokesman of the Command, Chidi Nwabuzor, superintendent of police, SP, however said he was expecting detailed briefing from the police in the area.

Click here to read more articles