Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Nnewi (Agenzia Fides) - Father Tobias Chukwujekwu Okonkwo, a priest-pharmacist shot dead in the street by a group of men on the evening of December 26, 2024, had just finished his internship. Killed while driving on the Onitsha-Owerri highway, in Ihiala (south-east Nigeria), Father Tobias was the director of several local health facilities, such as the schools of nursing, obstertrics and the medical laboratory at the Our Lady of Lourdes hospital in Ihiala.
A life "spent at the service of others and with a great social impact that began shortly after his priestly ordination in July 2015". These were the words with which the Vicar General of the Catholic Diocese of Nnewi, Anichebe Ezeobata, remembered Fr Tobias during the homily delivered at his funeral, which was held in a solemn ceremony at the Nnewi Cathedral, a town in Anambra State, three weeks after his assassination.
The funeral ceremony, presided over by the Bishop of Aguleri Diocese, Denis Isizoh, and concelebrated by the Bishop of Nnewi Diocese, Jonas-Benson Okoye, and the Auxiliary Bishop of Portharcourt Diocese, Patrick Eluke, was attended by hundreds of people, including many priests and nuns from different congregations, as well as family members and friends. Several politicians, among others, also attended the solemn funeral.
Vicar General Ezeobata, who delivered the homily, recalled the great commitment of Father Tobias in "carrying out his short pilgrimage on earth, to the point that he carved out a special place for himself in society, recognized by all."
At the end of the service, Father Tobias, whose coffin was carried on the shoulders of other priests, was buried in the grounds of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in Nnewi. (F.B.) (Agenzia Fides, 18/1/2025)
