Hell was let loose in the early hours yesterday at
Oba-Ofemmili community in Awka-North Local
Government Area of Anambra State, when some
youths, suspected to be cultists attacked
Christians in their worship places, shot and
inflicted machete wounds on over 50 of them.
The attackers also went on rampage, looting and
burning churches in the community. Some of the
churches burnt include Assemblies of God Church,
Grace of God Church, Deeper Life Bible Church,
Winners Church, Christ Holy Church, St. Paul's
Catholic Church and another pentecostal church.
The assailants, according to the victims, attacked
the worshippers with dangerous weapons,
shooting sporadically and wounding several
people. They were said to have invaded no fewer
than seven churches, burning and destroying
everything within their reach.
A two-year old baby was among the victims.
It was gathered that trouble started in the
community over disagreement between the
Christians and the idol worshippers on the
cultural night masquerade, a local fetish cult
opposed by Christians in the area.
A victim of the incident, who gave his name as
Mr Sunday Aliuba, said they were in the church
when the miscreants stormed their church, armed
with guns and machetes. He said they swooped
on the congregation and inflicted machete
wounds on them, causing stampede as people
struggled to escape from the church.
Hear him: "How it happened was that Oba-
Ofemili and the Christians had an agreement that
the night masquerades will not start by 9pm, and
we were having our programmes according to the
rules. But on Monday night, I was at the crusade
when we heard that the pagans will burn down all
the churches. Around 11pm, they started shooting
sporadically into the air, causing everybody to
shiver. Around 1.00am on Tuesday, they stormed
the church, and razed down the parish priest's
house and pursued everybody in the church. We
hid under the staircase and under the pews.
"In self-defence, we pounced on some of them.
As it got hotter, my colleagues ran away. I also
ran but they pursued me and shot me in the legs,
shattering my ankles and bones. They also
inflicted machete wounds on me. The blood that
came out of my body can fill two buckets. It is
only God that is sustaining my life till now."
When contacted, the priest of St. Paul's Anglican
Church, whose parish church was razed, Rev.
Pat. Odinanwa, said series of efforts made to
ensure peace in the community between the
church and the community failed. He said the
pagans nursed pathological hatred for Christians
in the community. According to him, there were
agreements reached between the church and the
community, but the pagans sought all avenues to
stop Christians from worshipping God in the
community.
According to him, over 50 persons sustained
gunshot and machete wounds, while seven
churches were burnt by the irate youths. He said
Christians in the area had been living in fear, as
the youths threatened further attack today.
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