Late Rev. Fr Odia: A Martyrdom We Didn’t See Coming!

The gruesome murder, in June, of Rev Fr Christopher Ogedengbe Odia of the Catholic diocese of Auchi, by suspected Fulani terrorists, came as a rude shock to the people of his community in particular and Edo State in general. However, taking into cognizance the accounts of those who knew him firsthand, Akoko Edo community newspaper editor, Albert Afeso Akanbi, examines an ironic aspect of the life of the late Rev. Fr, and ask if this was a case of a martyrdom we didn’t see coming.  

On the morning of 26th June 2022, at about 6.30am, 41-yer-old Rev. Fr. Christopher Ogedengbe Odia was abducted by men that have since been identified as Fulani terrorists in his rectory, on his way out for Sunday Mass at St. Michael Catholic Church Ikabigbo, Uzairue, Edo State.

His death, soon after his abduction from a savage attack, came as a rude shock to the entire people of Edo State, the Catholic Diocese of Auchi, his brother priests, and the laity.

At his funeral mass, his closest friend who was saddled with the task of writing and reading a tribute, Rev. Fr Sylvester Azu, in intermittent tears, made some quite revealing remarks about the late Rev. Fr. Odia.

For example, Fr Azu recalled how, at the funeral mass of Ososo born Rev. Fr. Peter Odion Ayala, who himself was killed at his Parish house at Sobe town in the year 2013 by unknown assailants, Fr Odia had admired the fact that Fr Ayala was buried in the priestly robes with which he celebrated his very first mass as a priest. Fr Odia had then mentioned that when he too dies, he would love to be buried in his first priestly garments like the late Fr. Ayala.

On one occasion, after the surgery of another priest whom they had gone to offer moral support in an Ibadan hospital, Fr. Odia mentioned to his best friend Fr. Azu that he prayed for a quick death, a peaceful one and not one that would be a result of ill-health because, in his words “…I no wan sick die o, I no wan give anybody trouble at all”.

Again, on another occasion when Fr Odia encountered a medical challenge due to exhaustion, he passed out in Fr. Azu’s car on their way to the hospital. After he came to at the hospital, following the administration of oxygen, he chided Fr. Azu for his role in bringing him back, saying; “…why were you calling me back? I was in a sparkling environment with sweet melodious song”.

Listening to Rev Fr Azu, the question that naturally came to the fore in the minds of the worshippers was; was late Fr Odia’s death a case of a martyrdom we didn’t see coming? He was said to have often off-handedly given prophecies which his associates paid no attention until they came to pass, following which he would quip, didn’t I tell you guys? He was even said to have prophesied his own death; that he wouldn’t live longer than 40 years on earth. Rev. Fr. Ignatius Omunagbe, a friend and fellow Seminarian told us that the late Fr Odia was 41, and that as at the time of death, he had spent 10 years in the priesthood.

Late Fr. Christopher Odia had been very vocal against the activities of illegal miners in Dagbala community of Akoko-Edo Local Government Area where he was parish priest for two years. His fellow priests told us that that was his style. He was noted to take the welfare of his parishioners, very seriously. He paid school fees for many, including even priests who were studying abroad and roofed buildings for those who didn’t have the means to do so. It is reported that Dagbala indigenes who were are the receiving end of the activities of the illegal miners often reported to him what they were going through, and he shared some of those stories with his brother priests at their pastoral meetings.

On the suspicion that that he may have been transferred from Dagbala because he was very vocal against the foreign miners, Rev Fr Omunagbe said that there was no evidence to suggest that Fr Odia’s transfer was as a result of his advocacy. He said that normally, the Bishop has the prerogative to make transfer anytime he wants and any time necessity demands, because priests generally are versatile people who can function anywhere

Describing the death in a press statement the Police said “In frustration, the abductors killed Rev Odia. A hunter identified as Nurudeen was also shot dead in the process while the personnel who went in the trail of the kidnapers decimated one of them with other gang members escaping with various gunshot wounds”

Some analysts say the story of late Fr. Odia mirrors the current state of insecurity in Nigeria in general, and Edo State in particular. The truth is that, like the rest of Nigeria, insecurity in Edo north is affecting economic growth by drying-out investments, increasing unemployment and dwindling revenue sources, amongst other downsides. Despite this truth, it appears those in charge of security are not doing everything within their power to deploy all State apparatus in tackling the hydra-headed problem in the state. And today, one of the casualties of this problem is the late Fr. Odia.

Long before Fr. Odia came into the picture, there had been reports of the activities of suspected Fulani herdsmen around the Local Government Area. For example, there have been reports of Fulani herdsmen attacking several persons on Imoga-Ibillo Road.  Imoga is the largest place in Akoko Edo in terms of land mass and a boundary community between Edo and Kogi States.

Rev. Fr. Aloysius Oregbeme who worked with the late Fr. Odia in many places in Etsako, told us that he was a peaceful man.  Fr Oregbeme called on the government to do something decisive about insecurity especially in Edo north, and also urged the people of the Local Government and the region in general to take the issue of security very seriously.

Parishioners at Dagbala community from where the late Rev Fr was transferred before he met his untimely death, insisted that though he was a fighter, he was indeed a peace-loving man who believed that lasting peace can only come from justice and fairness. They said he was a philanthropist and a man who put people’s welfare before any other consideration. For his brother priests, he was a leader and a true example of the faith.

Late Fr Odia left behind his parents and siblings.

Albert Afeso Akanbi is the editor of Akoko Edo community newspaper.