Posted on Aug 7, 2017 in News | 0 comments
Buhari, Saraki, Dogara, others condemn attack
It was all like an action-packed movie.
A gunman dressed in black, storming a church and opening fire on worshippers.
There was commotion. By the time the gunman left, no fewer than 11 worshippers lay dead.
That was the scene yesterday at St. Philip’s Catholic Church, Amakwa-Ozubulu in Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State. The gunman came during the early morning mass
Many were injured during the incident, which Governor Willie Obiano described as “sacrilegious”.
An eyewitness, who narrated how the attack occurred, said the priest, Rev. Fr. Jude Onwuaso, was unhurt. The witness, who said he was part of those who evacuated the victims, said the gunman went into the church, identified Chief Akunwafor Ikegwuonwu, a parishioner, and shot him dead. He then went on the rampage, shooting indiscriminately at worshippers.
Commissioner of Police Garba Baba Umar said 11 persons were killed and 18 injured. He said some people in the community had been invited for interrogation.
It was leant that the gunman may have struck on the instruction of one of two suspected drug barons from the community who live in South Africa. One of them, who was the gunman’s target, is believed to have built the Catholic Church about two years ago.
There are two accounts of the incident. One is that a gunman committed the crime. The other claimed there were six gunmen.
A source from the community, who pleaded for anonymity, told The Nation that the gunmen visited the home of one of the drug barons, perhaps to assassinate him, but discovered that he had travelled.
This, according to the source, might have made them to visit the Catholic Church near his house.
The father of the suspected drug baron was killed along with others in the church
The police commissioner said preliminary investigation revealed that the attack was carried out by people from the area and not by Boko Haram as being speculated in some quarters.
He said: “From our findings, it is very clear that the person who carried out the attack must be an indigene of the area.
“We gathered that worshippers for 6 o’clock Sunday mass at St. Philip Ozobulu were in the service when gunmen dressed in black attire, covering their faces with fez caps, entered the church and moved straight to a particular direction and opened fire.
“The men, after shooting at their targeted victim, still went on a shooting spree, killing and wounding other worshippers.’’
It was learnt that the attackers were speaking Igbo when firing at the worshippers.
Umar said though no arrest had been made, the police were working on the information that the attack followed a quarrel between two Ozubulu men living abroad.
The commissioner of police said it was wrong for the perpetrators of the act to take their quarrel into the church, saying “such conduct shows the people behind the act do not fear God’’.
The police have launched a manhunt for suspects.
Dismisssing the rumour that the attack was carried out by Boko Haram elements, Umar urged residents to go about their businesses without fear.
Obiano visited the church and the Nnamdi Azikwe University Teaching Hospital, NAUTH, Nnewi where the injured were being treated.
He also confirmed that the shooting followed a clash of two brothers based abroad. He described it as a “communal feud”.
Obiano promised to offset the medical bills of the injured and assist in the funeral for those killed.
Some of the critically injured died on the way to the hospital.
Obiano added that intelligence report linked the shooting to an existing feud between some members of Umuezekwe Ofufe Amakwa community of Ozubulu living abroad.
“It is an isolated case and I urge worshippers in the Church and residents of the area to go about their normal activities.”
He also said 50 doctors had been mobilised to the hospital to assist in providing the best medical care to the injured persons.
The governor also visited Our Lady of Assumption Catholic Cathedral, Nnewi, where he addressed a congregation of worshippers.
He intimated the worshippers on the true picture of the incident, saying there was nothing to worry about.
The Priest of St. Philip’s Catholic Church, Rev. Fr. Jude Onwuaso, said the attack took place at about 6.30 a.m.
According to him, an unidentified man came into the church, shot at a man, Ikegwuonwu, before shooting sporadically at other worshippers.
An eyewitness, who simply identified herself as a choir member, said the church was dark as there was no power supply at the time.
She said the generating set suddenly stopped working; so, the mass proceeded with the congregation using candles.
According to her, the gunman, after the shooting, immediately jumped into a waiting car with a driver.
One of the survivors, Mr. Stephen Ohamadike told The Nation at the church premises that the gunmen entered the church around 6.45am as they were about to begin “ the prayer of the faithful”.
His words: “Those of us who were to say the prayers of the faithful had just assembled at the altar and I had number 2 which meant that I was to say the prayer for Nigeria.
“Suddenly, I saw someone who was putting on a cap, shooting indiscriminately inside the church.
“There was pandemonium and in the midst of the confusion, I just lay down on the floor.
”The officiating priest and the Mass servers quickly left the altar and the Mass came to an abrupt end.
”I counted 11 bodies and many were injured. I used the vehicle belonging to Pa Ikwgwuonu to take him and his wife and others to Evans Hospital where the doctors advised us to go to the teaching hospital. I used the car to convey many other people to the hospital before I came back to Amakwa.”
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Boy, this is nothing but another senseless act of violence. What a blatant desecration of a sacred ground! This is worse than Cain and Abel; after all, Cain did not kill more than his own brother, and he did it tactfully, certainly not blatantly. Imagine if the gunman/men had totally eluded authorities, we would all be speculating "with authority" that it must be those Boko Haram folks with their Fulani herdsmen who came to invade the Church again! But in reality, it's an under-the-roof imbroglio. Chei, could people actually be this mean to fellow human-beings? It beats me, big time. And without blaming the victim, shouldn't someone have thought that holding a church service under the candlelight was not safe enough, all things considered?
Oh well, may all those left behind be comforted.
Michael
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On Monday, August 7, 2017 6:57 AM, Mobolaji Aluko <alu...@gmail.com> wrote:
My People:
This is Cain killing Abel all over again......
The kind of hate speech that oftentimes spews on our many forums in the Diaspora from the safety of our foreign homes should be curtailed - and here is one too many reasons why.......
And there you have it.
Bolaji Aluko.
DAILY TIMES
Blood splashed in church
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by KALHAN ROSENBLATT
A Massachusetts woman showed little emotion as she was sentenced to 15 months in jail on Thursday for coercing her boyfriend via text to kill himself.
Bristol County Juvenile Court Judge Lawrence Moniz found Michelle Carter, 20, guilty of involuntary manslaughter in June for encouraging Conrad Roy III, 18, to take his own life in July 2014 after prosecutors successfully argued the then 17-year-old was an attention-seeking teen, desperate to play the grieving girlfriend. She had faced up to 20 years in prison.
Moniz gave her a 2.5 year sentence and said only 15 months was mandatory. He also sentenced her to five years of probation
ounty District Attorney's Director of Communications Gregg Miliote said the other 15 months of the sentence "hangs over her head" if she gets into legal trouble during her probation.
"I have not found that Miss Carter’s age or level of maturity or even her mental illness have any significant impact on her action," Moniz said. "She was a bright young lady, did well in school and I am satisfied that she was mindful of the actions for which she now stands convicted."
But Carter's lawyer, Joseph P. Cataldo, successfully petitioned to have her sentenced stayed, meaning she will not go to jail until her state appeals are exhausted.
He added that Carter can't have contact with the Roy family, except for the prosecution of a civil suit, and Carter is not to have contact with classmates who acted as witnesses for the prosecution. She is also not to leave the state of Massachusetts, and must submit DNA samples and a have a mental health evaluation.
And Carter is banned from using social media.
If she violates the terms of her five-year probation, she will have to serve her full sentence in jail.
However, Carter's probation also doesn't start until her appeals are exhausted, and she will remain on the terms of her pre-trial release until a decision is made at the appellate level. If her appeals are denied, she will have to begin serving her jail sentence and probation.
Carter wiped tears from her cheeks as Moniz dismissed the packed courtroom.
During the hearing, Roy's family spoke through tears, explaining how Carter's actions had impacted each of them, as they spoke before Moniz.
"Michelle Carter exploited my son's weaknesses and used him as a pawn. She has not shown any remorse. The fact that he was convinced to him to kill himself is unimaginable. Where was her humanity? In what world is this behavior OK and acceptable?" Conrad Roy Jr., Roy's father, told Moniz on Thursday.
Assistant District Attorney Maryclare Flynn read a letter on behalf of Roy's mother Lynn.
"I have been to few court hearings but it caused emotional pain. I could not come to terms with someone who claimed to love him inflicting so much pain on him and my family," Lynn Roy wrote.
Flynn had recommended a sentence of seven to 12 years for Carter, and reiterated that Carter had not accepted responsibility for her actions or shown remorse.
Cataldo, told Moniz that Carter had no history or record of disciplinary problems and that she would be a prime candidate for probation.
"This is a horrible circumstance, which she does regret and does take responsibility for," Cataldo said, adding that because the case was heard in juvenile court, Carter would be better suited for probation and would abide by whatever conditions Moniz set.
Following the sentencing, Flynn said that they were disappointed with the judge's decision to grant the stay.
"While we are disappointed the judge chose to stay the sentence, we remain steadfast in our belief that Michelle Carter committed involuntary manslaughter and needs to be held responsible," she said.
Roy died after he used a portable water pump to fill his black Ford F-250 with carbon monoxide while Carter texted him to stay in the vehicle from 30 miles away.
During a 47-minute call with Carter, Roy exited the vehicle because the carbon monoxide poisoning was “working and he got scared,” court documents say.
Related: Michelle Carter Sent Texts to Her Boyfriend's Grieving Mother
Carter “f----- told him to get back in,” according to the documents. It’s this directive, Moniz reasoned, that led to his decision to find Carter guilty.
"I don’t believe she can be helped. I don’t believe she could even give one single f--- about what she’s done," Roy's aunt Kim Bozzi said in a written statement to Moniz Thursday. "I believe she should be kept far away from society.”
Moniz said that when Carter instructed Roy to return to his vehicle, she became responsible because she knew he was entering "a toxic environment inconsistent with human life." Moniz also noted that Carter did not contact Roy's family when she knew his location and his intended actions.
Moniz said Carter had a responsibility to take action to stop a life-threatening risk.
“Take away the spotlight that she so desperately craves,” Bozzi begged. “Twenty years may seem extreme but it is still twenty more than Conrad will ever have."
The defense had claimed Carter wasn’t in her right mind at the time she encouraged Roy to kill himself, saying the troubled teen was on Celexa, a treatment for depression, which can trigger side effects like irrational thinking, irritability and poor impulse control.
During sentencing, Carter’s father pleaded with Moniz to give his daughter a lenient sentence, and take her mental health into account while deciding how to punish her.
"I pray to God you will take into consideration that Michelle was a troubled, vulnerable teenager in an extremely difficult situation and made a tragic mistake," David Carter wrote in a statement to Moniz. "I am 100% sure she was only trying to do what in her mind what was right for Conrad."
During the trial, prosecutors argued in the days before Roy’s suicide, Carter attempted a “dry run,” texting classmates that Roy was “missing” despite being in constant contact with him.
Related: Michelle Carter Found Guilty of Encouraging Boyfriend’s Suicide With Text Messages
“She begins to get the attention she craved for,” assistant district attorney Maryclare Flynn said during her opening statement in June. “So she has to make it happen. She has to make him kill himself so that she’s not seen as a liar.”
After Roy’s death, Carter texted at least three classmates nearly identical messages about hearing the moment Roy took his own life.
A text sent by Carter, on the night Roy died, to friend Samantha Boardman said: “Sam, he just called me and there was a loud noise like a motor and there was moaning like someone was in pain … that’s all I heard.”
She later texted Boardman again, saying: “I think he just killed himself.”
Months after his death, when authorities began investigating the circumstances of Roy’s suicide, Carter began to panic when she realized their text messages were likely to be reviewed by police.
“I just got off the phone with Conrad’s mom, and she told me … [police] have to go through his phone and see if anyone encouraged him to do it on texts and stuff. Sam, they read my messages with him I'm done. His family will hate me and I can go to jail,” Carter wrote in a message to a friend
Hate SPEECH spewed from anywhere from the comfort or discomfort of your FOREIGN homes safe or unsafe, or from the comfort or discomfort of your village houses (safe or unsafe) in the country CAN never be BLAMED for human beings killing themselves. Total nonsense to suggest that HATE SPEECH is responsible for pulling a trigger on a gun.
Hate Speech is part and parcel of humanity, just like killing is indeed part and parcel of humanity and the example of Cain and Abel bears that out!
Can we have a serious conversation without being yeassy!
One cannot be serious to blame hate speech for killing another, wow!
Iguade
Sent from my iPhone
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