A group of soldiers have invaded a Catholic Church in Nkpor, near Onitsha, Anambra State using lethal force to disperse worshippers.
The lethal invasion reportedly took place in the early hours of Monday, May 30, 2016 as Catholic faithfuls were preparing to take part in morning mass.
The mission of the soldiers is yet unknown,” News Express, an online newspaper which first reported the story, says.
Locals say that several people were shot and killed in the gestapo style operation.
A human rights activist who spoke with The Trent from Onitsha confirmed the incident and says efforts are being made to obtain the details of this shocking violation of the fundamental human rights to worship. He confirmed to our reporter that 10 people were killed in the rampage which spread out from the church.
A correspondent for News Express confirms that 2 people were killed in the Catholic Church premises.
The Trent contacted the Nigerian Army spokesman, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman from The Trent for comment on this incident. The army spokesman said in a text message to our reporter, “Information [is] not correct. In fact, it was some MASSOB/IPOB elements that attacked troops and some security agencies while they were on patrol.”
When our reporter sought to know if the troops were attacked in the church, the army spokesman did not respond. “We will certainly give you further details,” he ended his text message.
This is a developing story and is being updated as information comes in.
