An assistant parish priest at Saint Kelvin Catholic Church, Ogbaku, in the Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State, was shot on Christmas Day by gunmen suspected of escaping an unreported event.  

At around 8 a.m. on Christmas Day, the priest—whose identity had not yet been formally confirmed as of the time of publication—was allegedly shot as he approached the church gate for morning Mass.  

The priest was struck on the right hand, according to a source who wished to remain anonymous. 

The attacker was not visible at the site.  The informant claims that the gunmen seemed to have fired from a far-off, hidden area, making it challenging for anyone around to identify the shooter.

According to reports, the priest was taken to an unidentified facility and is still undergoing treatment there.  There are allegedly still prayers for his healing.  The incident was described by the source as follows: "The gunshot occurred on Christmas Day, when everyone was in a happy mood.

“The priest was trying to enter the gate for the morning mass but we just heard a sound and the next thing, he was in pains that he had been shot.

“Probably it was a stray bullet from somewhere close by but the twist was that nobody saw who fired the shot. Meanwhile, the priest is receiving treatment for gunshot wounds in the hospital and prayers are going on for his survival.”

DSP Henry Okoye, the Imo State Command's Police Public Relations Officer, confirmed the occurrence and stated that it had not yet been officially reported to the police.

Source