Archbishop Akubeze Lived and Died Peacefully - Fr. Oyanoafoh

Archbishop Akubeze Lived and Died Peacefully - Fr. Oyanoafoh

Habiba Sam 

The Chancellor of the Catholic Archdiocese of Benin City, Very Rev. Fr. Michael Oyanoafoh, has described the late Archbishop Augustine Obiora Akubeze as a man of peace whose life and death reflected the tranquility he lived by.

Fr. Oyanoafoh made the statement on July 16, 2026, while receiving members of the Catholic Media Practitioners Association of Nigeria, CAMPAN, Archdiocese of Benin City Chapter, who paid him a condolence visit. The delegation was led by the chapter Chairman, Ruben Mario Brodrick.

Speaking during the visit, the Chancellor said the Church takes consolation in the fact that the late Archbishop departed peacefully abroad.

“We all know that the Archbishop died abroad. The consolation we have is that he was a peaceful man, he lived a peaceful life and died peacefully,” he said.

He urged Catholics to hold on to the hope of resurrection, noting that while grief is natural, it must not override faith.

“We believe in the resurrection; as Catholics, we don't need to cry too much — though extremely painful, Jesus himself wept over the death of his brother Lazarus, that became the shortest verse in the Bible. There will be no crime in weeping at all, but we cannot allow our cry to override our hope of the resurrection,” he stated.

Fr. Oyanoafoh called on the faithful to intensify prayers for the repose of the Archbishop’s soul and assured that the Archdiocese is working to bring his body back to Nigeria.

“One of the bottlenecks is that he did not die in Nigeria. The reasons, the ways and means of bringing his body to the country are very challenging, but we are going to surmount them. Before the end of this week, there will be clearer information to the general public on when we think the funeral can be done,” he added.

He appreciated CAMPAN for its service to the Church and society, praying that God would strengthen all media practitioners in the apostolate.

Earlier in a condolence letter signed by Brodrick and the chapter Secretary, Habiba Sam, CAMPAN described Archbishop Akubeze as “a master communicator of the Gospel whose life preached louder than words.”

The association recalled his ministry from priestly ordination in 1987, as the pioneer Bishop of Uromi in 2006, to his installation as Archbishop of Benin City in 2011, noting that his life was defined by “profound simplicity, humility, and an unwavering obedience to the will of God.”

Archbishop Akubeze was called to eternal glory on Thursday, July 9, 2026.