In the Oct. 24 note, Lawani said: “This is to thank all and sundry for your collective prayers over the past several days for the safe release of our brothers, Brother Anthony Eze and Brother Peter Olarewaju. We thank God for answering our prayers.”
“However, we are saddened by the news of the gruesome murder of the third brother, Godwin Eze, in the hands of the kidnappers. May God grant eternal rest to his soul, consolation to his immediate family members and to all of us who are left to mourn his passing,” he continued.
In an interview with ACI Africa, Father Joseph Ekesioba, a former novice director at the monastery, said that Brother Godwin Eze was shot by Fulani bandits a day after the kidnapping.
“I have been sharing with one of our brothers who was released and he said that Godwin was shot on Wednesday [Oct. 18] at night. The abductors took our three brothers to the bank of a river and shot Brother Godwin. They then threw his lifeless body in the river,” Ekesioba said in an Oct. 24 interview.
He added: “After killing Godwin, the kidnappers led brothers Peter and Anthony to the forest where they had been hiding them and continued to threaten them, telling them that they too would be killed. Luckily, the two were set free on Saturday evening [Oct. 21].”
Ekesioba said that the monastery was organizing a search to retrieve the body of Godwin Eze from the river.