Father Isaac Achi, a Nigerian Catholic priest, was murdered in Niger State on Jan. 15, 2023.
The Catholic priest was reportedly burned to death on Sunday after bandits set fire to his parish rectory in northern Nigeria.
The body of Father Isaac Achi was found among the charred parish building of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church on Jan. 15, according to the Catholic Diocese of Minna, Nigeria.
Bandits in an attack on Kafin Koro Community in Paikoro Local Government Area of Niger State in the early hours of Sunday have burnt a Reverend Father, Isaac Achi of Saint Peter and Paul Catholic Church, to death.
The bandits were said to have invaded the community at about 1 am and began shooting sporadically while heading to the uphill residence of the Rev. Father.
According to a resident of the community who identified himself as Paul, the bandits divided themselves into two while some went to the Catholic priest’s official residence, the others stayed in the town shooting to wade away any form of interference.
He died after armed bandits attacked the priest’s residence in the village of Kafin Koro. Another priest at the rectory, Father Collins Omeh, escaped the building, but sustained gunshot wounds and is being treated in a hospital.
Alhaji Sani Bello Abubakar, the governor of the Nigerian state of Niger where the attack took place, described the attack as “ungodly and inhumane” and directed the local security agencies to pursue the attackers, according to The Daily Post.
“This is a sad moment, for a priest to be killed in such a manner means that we are not all safe, these terrorists have lost it, and drastic action is needed to end this ongoing carnage,” Bello said.
Achi served as the parish priest of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church where he died. He was also the chairman of his local branch of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
“May the soul of very Reverend Father Isaac Achi and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in perfect peace,” the Diocese of Minna said in a statement shared by the Nigeria Catholic Network.
Catholic News Agency/PUNCH Nigeria Ltd