“We are ready to die,” Catholic Priest Says in Tribute to Murdered colleague in Nigeria

The member of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans, OP) told Fr. Stan Chu Ilo, the host of the PACTPAN podcast, that news of Fr. Achi’s murder had shocked him, and added, “This is not the first time that a Catholic Priest has been brutally murdered by bandits or terrorists or the so-called unknown gunmen in Nigeria.”

The Catholic Priest and Professor at the Spiritan University Nneochi, Nigeria, expressed regret that little is being done to end the suffering of Christians in the country.

“Nobody is arrested. Nobody is tried and made to pay. And this gives the terrorists the courage to do more killings. Something that beats me is that they target Catholic Priests and it is very shocking. Our hearts are bleeding,” Fr. Iheanyi said.

The Nigerian Catholic Priest said that whatever is happening in Nigeria can only be understood with reference to the country’s history.

Nigeria’s history, Fr. Iheanyi went on to say, has been immersed in religious fanaticism that came through the jihad led by Usman Dan Fodio even before the country’s independence. 

Usman Dan Fodio, a Fulani scholar, is said to have launched a religious war (jihad) in northern Nigeria in 1804 that lasted for six years. 

“From then, the mission has been to make Nigeria a Muslim country. The goal has been championed to date. There are powerful religious fanatics who have vowed that they are going to make Nigeria a Muslim country,” Fr. Iheanyi told Fr. Ilo, a research Professor in the Department of Catholic Studies at DePaul University. 

The religious fanatics, Fr. Iheanyi said, have empowered a government that is bent on Islamizing Nigeria. 

The result, he said, is a government that has done little or nothing to stop religious fanaticism. 

“A good number of people in government are behind the terrorism in Nigeria. The government knows them. The names are there. The records are there. But nothing is being done,” the Dominican Priest said.

He added that though there is an element of ethnicity involved in Nigeria, religion takes an upper hand in the killings of Christians.

“Those who have been in power from 1960 to date have largely been of Islamic religious persuasion. In the last seven years of government, there has been nothing done as a deterrent to people committing such crimes,” Fr. Iheanyi said, and added, “Nothing is being done to show how these people are tried and sentenced for their crimes.”

“The only thing we hear is that an arrest has been made. Nothing comes from the arrests. We all saw how the government forgave and embraced some of the members of Boko Haram, which happens to be one of the deadliest terrorist groups in the world,” Fr. Iheanyi said.

He continued, “We see a lot of partiality in the manner in which the government is responding to terrorism in the country. The matter is made worse by the poor governance that we have.” 

The Catholic priest asserted that the Nigerian government is supporting terrorism against the Christians, adding, “There is evidence for all to see. No one is paying for the killings.”

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The Nigerian Priest underlined the need for the people of God to continue praying for Africa’s most populous nation, which was said to be experiencing a “long night”.

According to Fr. Ilo, “Nigeria is like a vast cemetery”.

“Despite the hardships in Nigeria, Christians still call on Jesus. They still worship God. Christians keep asking God when the long night will be over for them,” the native of Nigeria said. 

In response, Fr. Iheanyi noted that the people’s hope in Nigeria will be renewed with good leaders taking charge of the government.

“Unfortunately, some of our Christians are part of a government that is very corrupt and anti-people,” Fr. Iheanyi said, and added, “The Church must speak out boldly. The Church must walk its talk. Unfortunately, some of our Church leaders are dining and winning with these politicians. This way, they find it difficult to criticize the government.”