Troops of Sector 7 of the Special Task Force, Operation SAFE HAVEN (OPSH), have arrested two suspects linked to the murder of Reverend Father Sylvester Okechukwu, a Catholic priest who was abducted and killed in Tachira Village, Kaura Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
The OPSH Media Officer, Major Samson Zhakom, disclosed in a statement from Jos, Plateau State, that the arrest followed a raid on the hideout of the prime suspect, 33-year-old Pate Yau, at a Ruga settlement in Warsa-Piti Village, Lere Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
According to Major Zhakom, Yau confessed during interrogation that he was hired by one Douglas Henry, a resident in the same house as the slain priest, to carry out the abduction.
Following this revelation, troops arrested Henry at Agwan Sariki Tachira in Kaura LGA. Both suspects are now in custody and undergoing further interrogation.
Father Okechukwu, the parish priest of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Tachira, was kidnapped from his residence on the night of March 4, 2025. His body was discovered the following day, March 5, which was Ash Wednesday.
