On the day of his death, Father David Tanko travelled to the town of Takum, in eastern Nigeria, to attend a meeting to negotiate a peace agreement aimed at ending the violent crisis between the Tiv and Jukun peoples in the region. On his way, he was arrested and brutally assassinated by armed men who probably belonged to the Tiv ethnic group. According to local sources, the Tiv killed him to impede the agreement between the two peoples.

Charles Michael Hammawa, Bishop of the diocese of Jalingo, the diocese where Father Tanko belonged to, expressed his grief and stated that the murder is not related to any Jihadist group.

Source: Vatican News