Labour Party candidate in the 2023 presidential election, Peter Obi, has condemned the killing of Rev Fr. Tobias Okonkwo, a Catholic priest in Anambra State, and urged an end to the incessant killing in the country.
Rev Fr. Okonkwo was the manager, College of Nursing Sciences, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Ihiala, Anambra State.
He was shot dead along the Onitsha-Owerri Expressway on Thursday.
Describing the incident as heartbreaking,Obi wrote on his X account yesterday; “Today, I woke up to the heartbreaking news of the tragic and unfortunate death of Rev Fr. Tobias Okonkwo, the Manager of the College of Nursing Sciences, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Ihiala.
“Fr Tobias was shot dead by yet-be-identified criminals last night in Ihiala, Anambra. The constant killing of our very productive men and women by some bloodmongers is beyond heartbreaking.
“In many parts of the nation, the blood of our brothers and sisters whose lives were cut short by insecurity, continue to cry.
“How many more lives will be wasted before we rise to action and put an end to this menace contending with our future as a nation? As one who has continuously visited and partnered with the College of Nursing Sciences, Ihiala, I understand how devastating this incident is to the College community.”
“I extend my sincere condolences to his immediate family, the proprietor, the entire management, staff, and students of the College of Nursing Sciences, Ihiala.
“May God grant him eternal rest and grant us all the fortitude to bear his sad irreplaceable loss. May God heal our bleeding nation,” he wrote. The priest who was born on August 11, 1984, was ordained on July 11, 2015.