Ozubulu Youths Protest Reopening of St. Phillip’s Catholic Church

David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

Youths in Ozubulu community, Anambra State, where gunman attacked and killed worshippers in a church penultimate Sunday have protested the reopening of St. Phillip’s Catholic Church.

The youths under the aegis of Ozubulu Youths Association (OYA) on Monday took to the streets in the town, marching through the motor park to the local government area headquarters, the villages, the police station to the palace of the traditional ruler of the community.

The group called on the police and other security agencies to fish out the perpetrators of the act, saying their people were attacked without any provocation or reason.
The President of OYA, Emeka Anakwe, who spoke with journalists, said we was worrisome that a church where over 13 people were gruesomely killed by gunmen would be reopened for service one week after the attack, when investigation into the matter has not been concluded.

He said the reopenning was contrary to the earlier promise by the Nnewi Diocese that it would be closed temporarily for service until the police finished their investigations.

“Reopening the church is the highest level of disregard for the dead and wounded people of Ozubulu. The youths see it as provocation to the families and relations of the victim, for the youths to see the church holding service when the community is still mourning,” Anakwe said.

He condemned the attack on the innocent worshippers, saying: “The youths of Ozubulu are concerned about the attack because the entire people of the community are now living in fears. We cannot sleep comfortably any more, and our people can no longer sleep with their eyes closed because of fear of reoccurrence.

“We hear stories of our youths fighting and killing themselves over disagreement in business, other stories of certain people being drug peddlers, and fight over who becomes the President General of the community in Ozubulu and in the Diaspora, all those stories are trash, they are not true.”