Renowned journalist and broadcaster Rufai Oseni has publicly reacted to the tragic killing of Anglican priest Venerable Edwin Achi, describing the incident as a deliberate attack on the priest’s faith and a grim illustration of the growing insecurity and violence in Nigeria.
According to Oseni, Venerable Achi and his wife were abducted from their home in Kaduna State. Despite the family reportedly raising the ransom demanded by the kidnappers, the bandits cruelly instructed them to retrieve the priest’s decomposing body, highlighting the brutality and disregard for human life in such attacks.
Religious Motive
Oseni emphasized that the murder of Venerable Achi was motivated by religious hatred, framing it as part of a wider and disturbing pattern of violence against Christian communities in the country. He stressed that such attacks go beyond mere criminality and target faith itself, sending chilling messages to vulnerable communities across Nigeria.
Family Devastation
He also spoke about the immense emotional toll on the priest’s family, noting that Venerable Achi’s elderly mother, who is in her nineties, has yet to be informed of her son’s death, adding further layers of trauma to the tragedy. Oseni highlighted that the killing underscores how pervasive insecurity continues to affect Nigerian families, leaving them vulnerable to extreme violence and loss.
In his statement, Oseni recounted the horrifying sequence of events, revealing the heart-wrenching reality of the attack: “Nigeria has happened to me. When Venerable Achi was kidnapped, they raised a ransom for him. It was after his family had paid the ransom that the bandits told them to go and pick up his decomposing body. Venerable Achi was killed for his faith, pure and simple. He was a clergyman, he was a man of the cloth. So when the propagandists start and say there’s no Christian genocide, me, I will tell them the truth. Can I surprise you? Venerable Achi’s mother is still alive. She’s in her 90s. Nobody till now has been able to tell Venerable Achi’s mother that her son, who’s in his 60s, was killed after ransom was paid.”
Oseni’s comments come amid mounting concerns over targeted attacks on religious leaders and communities, reflecting both the rising insecurity in Kaduna State and the broader national issue of faith-based violence. He stressed that such incidents are not isolated and should be understood as part of a systematic threat to religious minorities, which requires urgent and decisive attention from security agencies and government authorities.
He called for increased protection of religious leaders and greater vigilance by authorities to prevent similar attacks, arguing that the government must prioritize the safety of citizens while addressing the root causes of such violent crimes, including banditry, terrorism, and religiously motivated attacks.
Watch video below …
“Ven. Edwin Achi, Anglican Vicar of the Kaduna Diocese, was k!ll£d by kidn@ppers because of his Christian faith. Earlier this morning, someone revealed to me that a ransom had been paid for his release, only for the kidn@ppers to send a picture of his corpse. Now, how do they… https://t.co/HoB6sOJwn0 pic.twitter.com/I7V941ikWb
— CHUKS 🍥 (@ChuksEricE) November 27, 2025