The Catholic Diocese of Nsukka has been thrown into mourning following the passing of its pioneer bishop, Most Rev. Dr. Francis Emmanuel Ogbonna Okobo, who died in the early hours of Friday, August 29, 2025, at the Niger Foundation Hospital, Enugu. He was aged 89.
Born on November 4, 1936, in Lejja, present-day Nsukka LGA of Enugu State, Bishop Okobo was ordained a priest on June 4, 1966, and consecrated bishop on January 6, 1991, at St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome. Installed as the first bishop of Nsukka shortly after, he assumed leadership of a newly created diocese with only 27 parishes and 70 priests.
But according to a heartfelt tribute by Jude Eze, a lay faithful of the diocese and former Altar Server under Bishop Okobo, the late bishop was far more than the statistics of his ecclesiastical journey. The author of the tribute was also known to have consistently eulogized the late Bishop in most of his writings, even while he was alive, publishing widely-read articles in his honour such as “Okobo’s Template, Onah’s Signature as Nsukka Dedicates Cathedral 30 Years After” and “You Need a Prophet? Go to Nsukka,” both of which appeared on The Concourse.
“He was the bishop who found us in bricks and left us in gold,” Eze wrote. “He didn’t merely lead; he empowered. He didn’t just plant — he cultivated.”
Eze, is a native of St. Mary’s Parish, Ada Agu Obollo Etiti, in Nsukka Diocese. A Medical Laboratory Scientist by profession and Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Chairman of Udenu LGA, he recalled the Bishop’s courageous reforms and spiritual foresight. Among them was his insistence on a two-year spiritual formation for seminarians before philosophy studies, a move that critics once questioned but which has since produced priests of both spiritual depth and academic excellence.
Jude Eze
(The Author of the Eulogy)
By the time Bishop Okobo retired in 2013, he had transformed the Nsukka Diocese into a flourishing faith community of 146 parishes, over 240 priests, 200 seminarians, and thousands of catechists and religious.
“His farewell Synod was nothing short of prophetic,” Eze added, “a triple commemoration that celebrated 100 years of Catholicism in Nsukka, 20 years of the diocese’s creation, and a doctrinal roadmap for the future.”
Even in retirement, the late bishop remained a steady presence from his residence along Onuiyi Bypass, Nsukka, until his peaceful passing.
“To understand Bishop Okobo is to understand that the Church is not just built with stone, but with souls,” Eze reflected. “And in his time, many souls were built — with care, with rigor, and with love.”
The tribute, which audio version has gone viral across social media platforms, and published under the title “The Legacy of a Shepherd: Remembering Bishop Francis Emmanuel Ogbonna Okobo”, paints him as a man of deep faith, intellectual courage, and pastoral conviction.
To Bishop Godfrey Igwebuike Onah, Okobo’s successor, Eze expressed gratitude for continuing the work of faith with equal vision. To the Nsukka Diocese, he urged reflection, thanksgiving, and renewed commitment to the bishop’s mission.
“Rest well, Shepherd of Nsukka,” Eze concluded. “You have fought the good fight. You have kept the faith. And now, a crown of glory awaits you.”
