Previously, the diocese had announced the liberation of Anthony Eze and Peter Olarewaju, who are postulants at a Benedictine monastery, and requested prayers for Godwin Eze, a novice at the monastery.
In the note from October 24, Fr. Lawani stated: “We want to thank all those who prayed together these recent days for the liberation of our brothers, Br. Anthony Eze and Br. Peter Olarewaju, safe and sound. We thank God for having answered our prayers.”
“However, we are saddened by the news of the horrible murder of our brother, Godwin Eze, in the hands of the abductors. May God grant his soul eternal rest and consolation to his close family members and to all of us who mourn his loss,” he went on.
In an interview with ACI Africa, Fr. Joseph Ekesioba, former novice master of the monastery, announced that Br. Godwin Eze had been shot by Fulani (Peul) bandits a day after the abduction.
“I spoke with one of our brothers who was freed, and he told me that Br. Godwin had been shot on Wednesday [October 18] in the night. The abductors took our three brothers to the bank of a river and shot Br. Godwin. They then threw his lifeless body into the river,” said Fr. Ekesioba on October 24.
He added: “After having killed Godwin, the abductors took Brs. Peter and Anthony into the forest where they had hidden them and continued to threaten them, saying that they would also be killed. Fortunately, the two were freed Saturday evening [October 21].”
Fr. Ekesioba said that the monastery has organized a search to recover the body of Godwin Eze from the river.
He reported to ACI Africa that the monastery had been obliged to take drastic measures following the abduction of October 17. “We have had to rehouse our brothers in a safer place because we continue to receive threats of attack,” he explained.
The diocese of Ilorin serves the state of Kwara, which is bordered on the east by the state of Kogi, on the north by the state of Niger (not the country, but one of the states of Nigeria), and on the south by the states of Ekiti, Osun, and Oyo.
Some of these Nigerian states, especially the states of Kogi and Niger, continue to suffer attacks which are perpetrated by armed Fulani herdsmen and other bandits.
A report from Intersociety published in April indicates that more than 150 people were massacred in the Christian regions of the state of Niger in only 100 days and that of the 707 Christians who were abducted in the course of that same time period, 200 were abducted in the state of Niger.
In a note sent to ACI Africa on Tuesday, October 24, the administrator of the diocese of Ilorin, Fr. Anselm Pendo Lawani, stated that Brother Godwin Eze of the Benedictine monastery of Eruku, who had been abducted on October 17, 2023, with Brothers Anthony Eze and Peter Olarewaju, had been brutally murdered and his body thrown in a river.