The Catholic priest was lured in Nigeria’s Kaduna state on Tuesday night (March 4th) where Fulani herdsmen and other Islamic extremist terrorists were active and his body was found the following day, sources said.
According to Kafanchan Parish, Pastor Sylvester Okechukw, a priest of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Tatilla, Kawra County, was accused of from his home by unknown assailants shortly after 9pm and later killed. He was 45 years old.
“The temptist went to pick him up yesterday, March 4th, just after 9pm. His lively body was found today. “What a day and death! He had prepared ashes and was trying to mark the parishioners’ foreheads to remind him that they were dust and that they were dust that they were coming back. This morning, his life was shortened and he was dusted before us.”
He said the violent nature of his death was similar to what Christ suffered.
“Father Sylvester had no condemnation. He was kind, easygoing, extremely hardworking, a good companion. He loved the priesthood,” Aba said. “When we mourn the death of this martian, we ask the good Lord to give eternal rest and bring peace to us and the Church.”
Aba said Sylvester was his former student for four years.
“Never cheeky, not mischievous, but humble and dedicated servant of God,” he said. “He was the head of Takad, pastor of a newly created parish in the Kaura Local Government Area. Local government is notorious for its ransom and eavesdropping enticement and acts.”
Rev. Jacob Chanett, the prime minister of Kafanchan’s Catholic parish, said during a press conference that the brutal losses have heartbroken and devastated the church.
“Father Sylvester was God’s dedicated servant who worked selflessly in the Lord’s vineyard and spread the message of peace, love and hope,” Chanet said. “He was always available and available to parishioners. His untimely death leaves an indelible void in our parish family, and we share the pain of his death with his family, friends and all those who know and love him.”
Nigeria has remained one of the most dangerous places on the planet for Christians, according to the 2025 World Watchlist of the countries where it is the hardest to be Christians. According to WWL, of the 4,476 Christians killed for faith around the world during the reporting period, 3,100 (69%) were in Nigeria.
“The scale of anti-Christian violence in this country is already at the highest possible level under the global watch list methodology,” the report states.
In the north-central zone of the country, where Christians are more common than they are in the northeast and northwest, Islamic extremist Fulani militias attack farm communities, killing hundreds of Christians and, above all, hundreds of Christians. Jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State (ISWAP) of West African states are also active in northern states in the country where federal control is poor and Christians and their communities continue to be targeted for attacks, sexual violence and the killing of disability. Ransom aid has been increasing significantly in recent years.
The violence spreads across southern states, with new jihadist terrorist group Lakrawa appearing in the northwest, armed with sophisticated weapons and an extremist agenda, WWL noted. Lakrawa is affiliated with the expansionist al-Qaeda rebellion Jamaa Nusrat ul Islam Wa al-Muslimin, or Zinim, which is derived from Mali.
Nigeria ranked 7th in the 2025 WWL list of 50 worst countries for Christians.
Kaduna has been the subject of constant attacks by Fulani herdsmen in recent years. With millions of figures in Nigeria and Sahel, Fulani, primarily Muslim, constitute hundreds of clans of many different lines that do not hold the views of extremists, while some Fulani adhere to radical Islamist ideology, all party parliamentary groups (Appgs) in the UK for international freedom or beliefs.
“They are clearly intent to adopt a comparable strategy for Boko Haram and Iswap and target strong symbols of Christian and Christian identity,” the AppG report said.
Nigerian Christian leaders say they believe herdsmen’s attacks on the Christian community in the mid-zone of Nigeria are inspired by the desire to forcefully take over Islam as it forced Christian lands and made desertification difficult to maintain the flock.
