Suspected herdsmen shot catholic priest, abduct others in Benue

Suspected herdsmen at the weekend shot a Catholic priest, Rev Fr. Solomom Atongo, on the volatile Makudi-Naka road in Benue State.
A statement issued by Rev. Joseph Beba, the chairman, Diocesan Priests, revealed that Rev. Atongo was shot on Makurdi-Naka road on his way from Naka, headquarters of Gwer West Local Government Area.
The victim is the priest in charge of St Johns Quasi Parish, Jimba.
Atongo was said to be in critical condition as he was immediately rushed to the hospital for treatment.
The Makurdi-Naka road has become the epicentre of herdsmen violence in the past two years.
The road has been abandoned due to the activities of hoodlums who kidnap and kill people on the road.
Fr. Atongo was in the company of two people when the hoodlums struck.
After shooting the priest and was left for dead, the herders kidnapped the other persons to an unknown destination.
Meanwhile the Catholic Bishop of Makurdi, Reverend Father Wilfred Anagbe, has called on Catholics in the state to pray for the quick freedom of Fr. Atongo who is in a critical condition in the hospital.
He asked Christians to unite in prayers for the priest.
It will be recalled that the bishop and priest of the diocese have allegedly been under threat since the bishop made a presentation to the United State Congress in the US over the killings of innocent Christians in Nigeria and in particularly Benue State.