Church urges caution over priest’s death

Catholic Bishop of Auchi Diocese, Edo State, Gabriel Dunia, has urged restraint in reports of the death of one of the priests of the diocese, Rev. Fr. Peter Ayala.

Ayala was found dead on Sunday in his apartment inside the St. Thomas Moore Catholic Church, Sobe, in Owan West Local Government Area of the state.

He was said to have been cleaning his double-barrel when the gun went off and killed him. Some reports  stated that the deceased might have committed suicide.

Addressing journalists on Wednesday, Dunia, urged the public not to be hasty in arriving at conclusions.

He said, rather, they should wait for the autopsy result on the matter before probable cause of death could be ascertained.

He said, “Although the body of Rev. Fr. Peter Ayala was found lying lifeless in a pool of blood with a locally manufactured gun and a big spanner on the floor, they were only parts of the clues to ascertain more authentic proofs of what had led to the death.

“Whatever must have been stated by anybody hitherto were probabilities in as much as expert examinations could prove otherwise. For all others who are prone to engage in some innuendos as regard Ayala’s death, I wish to caution so that they keep in mind that death is death whatever way and manner it occurs. It should not constitute an occasion for derision, uncharitable assumptions and calumnies against the living, the dead or both.”

A source close to the deceased however said some people suspected foul play in Ayala’s death.