Priest murdered in Nigeria after Christmas Eve mass
According to the Catholic News Agency, Father Luke Mewhenu Adeleke, of the Diocese of Abeokuta, was shot dead on Christmas Eve while returning home from mass.
“He was shot in his car by unknown gunmen on the 24th of December in the Obafemi Owode Local Government Area, after saying Mass in Ogunmakin, about 50 miles east of Abeokuta, in Nigeria’s Ogun State,” said the news agency.
Sadly, clergymen are frequently targeted, kidnapped, and murdered in Nigeria. The government continues to deny any religious motivation behind the attacks and has recently convinced the U.S. Department of State to do the same.
In November, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken removed Nigeria from the State Department’s list of “Countries of Particular Concern (CPC)”, for violations of religious freedom. This was done with no explanation, and just three days prior to Blinken’s diplomatic trip to Nigeria to meet with the Nigerian President.
Souerce: persecution.org