Bandits have killed a Catholic priest, Reverend Father Alphonsus Bello, and abducted another in Malumfashi, in Katsina state on Thursday.
The priest was killed after bandits numbering about 15 reportedly attacked the parish house of St. Vincent Ferrer Church Thursday night.
The body of the priest was later found Friday morning on a farmland behind the Catechetical Training School, Malumfashi.
Sources said Mr Bello and Reverend Father Joe Keke were taken away by the bandits during the attack.
The spokesperson of Sokoto Catholic Diocese, Reverend Father Chris Omotosho, has confirmed the incident in a report to the Catholic Secretariat in Abuja.
The report said the attack occurred at about 11.30pm on Thursday and that Mr Bello was, until his death, the parish priest of St. Vincent, while Mr Keke, 75, was a priest-in-residence.
A local source, Aliyu Danlami, told 21st CENTURY CHRONICLE that the bandits came on motorcycles, shooting sporadically which alarmed the neighborhood of the parish.
“Mr Bello was killed by the bandits inside his house at the parish, and his body dumped behind the wall. The parish security guard, who tried to help the reverend father was also abducted,” the source said.
Aliyu said Reverend Father Keke was kidnapped when he came out of his house during the shooting.
Another source said the body of the slain reverend father has been evacuated to Gusau in Zamfara state for burial.
Katsina Police Command spokesperson, SP Gambo Isah, also confirmed the incident to our reporter.
