Soldiers allegedly brutalise Catholic priest, cook in Taraba

There are palpable tensions in Taraba State over the alleged invasion of the house of a Catholic priest by the Nigerian Army.

The house of the priest, located in Ikyaior village, in the Wukari Local Government Council of the state, was alleged to have been invaded on Wednesday by heavily armed soldiers.

Piqued by the development, the Catholic priest of Wukari Diocese, Rev. Richard Unom, expressed concern at the alleged way and manner the men of the Nigerian Army invaded his house.

The priest, who announced that the Nigerian Army invaded his house and severely tortured him and his cook for no just reason, urged the authorities in the state and the federal government to, as a matter of urgency, bring the soldiers to book.

Unom said the personnel tortured him and his cook, Terhemen Cornelius, and even threatened to kill him despite his plea and proof of identity as a Catholic priest.

“I just reported to my new station at the All Saints Pastoral Centre on Friday, August 2, 2024, and on Monday, August 5, around 9 am, I saw six Hilux loads of Army personnel and motorcycles in the church premises, and I approached them and introduced myself as the priest in charge of the church.

“I tried to enquire from them what was happening, and they told me they were on a mission in the area in search of criminals.

“One of them requested water, which I asked one of the altar boys to give him. I then went inside to prepare because I was heading for Wukari town to buy a few things. It was while I was inside that I heard my cook crying and calling on me for help.

“I quickly stepped out and found him on the ground while the soldiers were mercilessly beating him. I cried out that he was my cook. I kept appealing to them to leave him, and I repeated to them that I am a priest, and one of them shouted, ‘You are a priest, so what?’

“Before I could know what was happening, I saw myself on the ground with more than three personnel on me. They were targeting my face, and I quickly turned and faced the ground. One of them came to my rescue, and that was how I was spared from severe injuries.

“They destroyed one of the eyes of my cook, Mr. Cornelius. We are currently at the Federal Medical Center, Jalingo, for treatment because the eye is completely damaged,” he narrated.

When contacted, the spokesperson of the 6 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Jalingo, covering the area, Captain Oni Olubodunde, simply said the personnel behind the said operation were not men of the 6 Brigade.

“I am aware of the incident, but those behind the incident are not personnel of our brigade, and I doubt if they are even true army personnel,” he said.