While Buhari Remains Silent, Pope Francis Speaks On The Gruesome Killing Of Catholic Priest In Niger

The death of Father Isaac Achi, the Parish Priest of St Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Kafin-koro, Minna Niger State has attracted condemnation from Pope Francis, the Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church world-wide.

His reaction is coming amidst wide criticism of President Muhammadu Buhari who has continued to remain silent days after the ugly incident.

On Wednesday, Pope Francis called for prayers for the slain Parish Priest who was killed and burnt to ashes by bandits. 

In his call to pray, the Pope said that many Christians in Nigeria are still being attacked.

“I ask all of you to join me in praying for Father Isaac Achi, of the Diocese of Minna in northern Nigeria, who was killed last Sunday in an attack on his rectory,” Pope Francis tweeted.

“So many Christians continue to be the target of violence. Let us #PrayTogether for them.”

Pope Francis’ tweet has attracted over 336,000 views, 1433, retweets and 7,371 likes as at Wednesday, 18th January.

Some of those who reacted to the tweet described the death of Father Achi as “ very unfortunate”

“It’s very unfortunate what the lay and religious are facing in Nigeria. May the soul of Fr Isaac Achi and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God Rest In Peace!

“We join Pontiff Pope Francis with his prayers for Father Isaac Achi.

May the powerful hand of the Almighty Lord guide them during this difficult moments. Amen, Amen, Amen”

The killing of Achi provoked reaction from women and youths in Kafin-koro in Paikoro Local Government Area of Niger State, that led to them razing down the Kafin-koro Police Divisional office.

The incident which took place three days after the murder of Father Achi, was burnt to death by terrorists who invaded the parish’s residence.

It was gathered that trouble began when some Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) and Catholic women groups converged on the premises of the burnt parish as early as 7 am yesterday to pray against those who gruesomely murdered Achi.

Angered by the inability of the police to respond on time to prevent the death of the priest, the women refused to be pacified and resisted the protection provided by the police, on the ground that it was useless.

The reactions are coming as the government continues to keep mum over the death of Father Isaac Achi.

The Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani) berated the federal government for its inability to unravel the identity of those behind the killing of Catholic Priest and other religious leaders in the country.

He noted that it is either the government is overwhelmed, or someone in government is deliberately engaging in cover ups, by avoiding to take appropriate actions due to the corruption in the security sector.

“By now, they should have mustered enough intelligence to expose those behind the killings.

According to Ibrahim, “ The failure of government to tackle the issue of killing of Priests has further contributed to emboldening other criminals in doing same

“Those involved should be identified. They are not spirits but human beings. If the security system is proactive enough, they should have been able to unearth the killers by now.

He called for a new approach to tackling insecurity, because according to him, “ government has the responsibility to lead in dealing decisively with perpetrators of these atrocities which now serve as motivation for others to commit crimes.

Prior to his death, Father Achi had served as the Parish Priest in charge of St. Theresa Catholic Church Madalla, before the Christmas Day celebration, in 2011.