By Ebere Inyama
Worshippers at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Umunze, and three other churches in Anambra state were reportedly harassed by Nigerian soldiers on Sunday, August 18, 2024, leading to disruption of mass and restriction of movement into the church premises.
Other churches invaded by the soldiers same day include Holy Rosary Catholic Church, SS Peter and Paul Catholic Church and St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Lomu Umunze, where the soldiers disrupted the mass and ordered parishioners and priests to leave the church.
The invasion of the churches by the military followed the killing on August 15 of two soldiers at Umunze community in Orumba South LGA, (county) of Anambra State by unknown gunmen.
A worshipper at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Ms. Florence Okoh, who witnessed the incident, told TruthNigeria that she was already seated inside the church with other worshippers before 6:00 a.m., waiting for the priest to begin the Mass when one of the armed soldiers marched to the altar and ordered them to leave the church.
“On Sunday 18 August, 2024,my sister and I attended mass at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, but the mass was disrupted by soldiers.
“We were waiting for the priest to begin the Mass when an armed soldier marched to the altar and asked everybody to leave the church,” Okoh told TruthNigeria. “The soldier told the congregation that their colleagues were murdered on Thursday night by gunmen in the town, and there would be no movement or market till further notice,” she went on to say.
“ As he was addressing us, some of his armed colleagues in army uniform walked into the church also.
“ I did not wait to be told a second time, so I took my little sister and hurriedly left the place, “ she said.
Responding to an enquiry from ThruthNigeria, a Catholic nun living in Anambra state, SK Nkiru, narrated her experience while on duty at Umunze on that fateful day.
“Our house is about 10 to 15 minutes’ drive to Umunze, but I was not in Umunze town when the whole thing started happening.
“The news of the killing of the two soldiers at Umunze was filtering in on Thursday of last week. On Saturday between 5 to 6 pm, the soldiers blocked all the major roads of Umunze town, searching private and commercial vehicles, picking young men to unknown destinations.
“On Sunday morning, they also went on blocking roads. In addition to that, they went to Catholic Churches in the town and chased away the congregations and locked the Church gates. Because of this, there was no celebration of Masses in the Churches. I learned that a priest of St Joseph Parish was flogged by them, according to an eyewitness.
“About 2:45 p.m. Sunday, I encountered them as we were moving down to Umunze to carry out our normal Sunday Food distribution ministry to the mentally affected men and women. A good Samaritan woman stopped us and asked us to reverse and go back home. If we had not obeyed that woman, and turned back, we would have been part of their victims,” she wrote.
Biafran Insurgent Simon Ekpa Provoked Nigerian Soldiers
On Thursday night (August 15, 2024), gunmen moving in a black colored jeep were reported to have run into an army patrol vehicle along the Umunze-Ogbunka Road in Orumba South LGA, of Anambra State, and a fierce gun battle ensued between them.
During the gun duel, two soldiers were killed. Shortly after the incident, precisely by 4:51 a.m. on Friday, August 16, 2024, the Prime Minister of the Biafra Republic Government in-Exile, Simon Ekpa took to the social media X to hail the gunmen, fuelling speculations that the attack was masterminded by the secessionist group loyal to him ( Ekpa).
“At the battle for Umunze that just ended few minutes ago, many of the zoo terrorists have been neutralized in Umunze, former Anambra state, a few minutes ago by the tactical unit of the Biafra Defense Force, “ he wrote.
Nigerian Army Justifies Military Operation In Anambra Churches
Responding to an enquiry by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the chief army spokesperson, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu said the soldiers only conducted a cordon and search operation in the area and did not invade churches.
According to him, the operation which was carried out by troops of the 82nd Division of the Nigerian Army, followed a tip-off that the assailants who attacked and killed some soldiers earlier were receiving medical treatment in a house close to a Catholic church in the area.
Nwachukwu, however, did not explain why the military operation spread to other churches resulting into disruption of masses and harassment of worshippers.
“The cordon- and- search on the community was to enable the troops to arrest some accomplices who escaped with gunshot wounds and blood stains from the attack that killed two of our troops.
“During the operation, the troops evacuated the people who were considered vulnerable if a shootout ensued to avoid collateral damage, Nwachukwu continued in his response to NAN’s enquiry.
“Available information indicated that they were receiving treatment within the locality, and the cordon was lifted after the search, but unfortunately, the suspects had already left the building to which they were traced.
“It is most unfortunate that the operation took place on a Sunday,” he said.
Earlier on August 5, 2024, members of the Nigerian military reportedly carried out an ambush on a Catholic priest, Fr. Bernard Unum at All Saints Catholic Church Ikyaior in Wukari in Taraba state. Despite a public outcry over the incident, no arrests have been made up till now.
Ebere Inyama is an Imo – state based conflict reporter for TruthNigeria
