Cardinal John Onaiyekan, the Archbishop of Abuja, Nigeria, was shot at by gunmen while travelling in the country's Edo state last week. The cardinal, and those in the vehicle with him, were not injured in the incident that occurred on Friday. It is currently unclear who carried out the attack. According to the Daily Trust website, the vehicle that the cardinal was travelling is was attacked by gunmen as he was travelling from Benin to Uromi. The driver said the cardinal was asleep when the attack began. “I saw a big pothole and decided to slow down the vehicle. I would have passed the spot with speed but because the cardinal was sleeping, I decided to slow down the vehicle so not to wake him up," he said. "Suddenly, three men came out of the palm tree plantation by the roadside and started shooting at the vehicle. I looked ahead of me and saw that two of them were firing from a distance at the vehicle and I looked behind me; another one was firing at the vehicle from behind so I decided to use reverse gear. "Drivers of the other vehicles who saw me coming with reverse started clearing off the road and when I got to a safe distance I decided to stop and people started running towards us to see what had happened. It was then we realised that the bullets shattered the left passenger window glass and made huge holes on the panel of the door." He added: "We just thank God that nothing happened to the cardinal or any of us in the vehicle”. Archbisop Augustine Akubueze of Benin City said he "thanked God that Cardinal Onaiyekan survived the attacks by some criminal elements". "If something had happened to him, what would have been the story? We thank God nothing happened and we are using this opportunity to appeal to the president to provide adequate security to the people of Edo State,” the archbishop added.
11:47 AM
Nigerian cardinal unhurt after being shot at by gunmen
The attack took place as Cardinal John Onaiyekan was being driven through Edo state
Staff Reporter

Already a subscriber? Sign in
5freearticles every month
Continue reading with a free account. No card needed.
- Five free articles every thirty days, on any device you sign in on
- The Catholic Herald newsletter, every morning
- Subscribe whenever you like for everything: every article and the magazine

subscribe to the catholic herald today
Our best content is exclusively available to our subscribers. Subscribe today and gain instant access to expert analysis, in-depth articles, and thought-provoking insights—anytime, anywhere. Don’t miss out on the conversations that matter most.
Subscribe












