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Ozubulu youths protest against reopening of church after killings

By Lawrence Njoku (Enugu), Dom Ekpunobi (Onitsha), Uzoma Nzeagwu (Awka) and Maria Diamond (Lagos)
15 August 2017   |   4:19 am
Ozubulu youths under the auspices of Ozubulu Youths Association (OYA) yesterday protested the re-opening of St. Philips Catholic Church, Amakwa Ozubulu, Anambra State barely a week after hoodlums killed members of the Church.

St. Philip’s Catholic Church, Ozubulu.

• Group condemns attack, seeks full investigation
Ozubulu youths under the auspices of Ozubulu Youths Association (OYA) yesterday protested the re-opening of St. Philips Catholic Church, Amakwa Ozubulu, Anambra State barely a week after hoodlums killed members of the Church.

President of the association, Emeka Anakwe, said it was worrisome that the Church could be reopened for service when investigation into the matter had not been concluded.

He said that it was highest level of provocation for the youths to see the church holding service when the community was still mourning.

Anakwe who condemned the attack on the worshippers said that the youths of Ozubulu are concerned about the matter, as people can no longer sleep with their eyes closed because of fear of reoccurrence.

The youths who took their protest to the palace of the Monarch of Ozubulu, Obi Fidelis Oruche and the police station in the town said their town has always played host to people from other communities in the state because of its peaceful nature.

Anakwe said that the youths who have been neglected for so long would no longer accept such disposition from the elders of the community as they were prepared to play active role in issues affecting the community.

The youths lamented that Ozubulu that used to play host to visitors from neighbouring communities for relaxation due to the prevailing peace in the community was being turned into a theatre of war.

Meanwhile, the Igbo Ekunie Initiative (IEI) has condemned the Ozubulu incident on August 6, 2017.

The forum comprising Igbo people in Nigeria and the Diaspora said, the killings should be thoroughly investigated to unravel the mystery behind it and the perpetrators.

A statement by the group’s president, Tochukwu Ezeoke said: “We condemn the hasty and premature manner in which the Governor Willie Obiano and the Commissioner of Police, Garba Umar, tried to rationalise the attack as a fallout of a drug war between members of the community residing in South Africa without a detailed investigation of the facts.

“Their ill-advised conclusion raised more questions than answers. We reject the rumours being peddled as the reason for the attack and hereby call for a comprehensive investigation of the incident with the aim of finding the immediate and remote causes of the attack and a disclosure of the perpetrators and concrete steps to bring them to book.”

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