Ozubulu Church Massacre: Police Deploy 500 Men as Controversial ‘Bishop’ Buries Father

Chief Aloysius Ikegwuonu

The Anambra State Police Command says it has deployed about 500 policemen to Ozubulu community in Ekwusigo loca Chief Aloysius Ikegwuonu, the alleged target of the August 6, 2017 attack on St Philip’s Catholic Churches buries his dad, Chief Cyprian Ikegwuonu today (Friday).

The deceased septuagenarian who is also a community leader, was one of the 13 persons killed by unknown gunmen who invaded and killed worshippers at Saint Philip’s Catholic Church on the fateful Sunday morning while Holy Mass was on.

THISDAY learnt that Ikegwuonu has been working assiduously to give his late father a befitting burial, just as it has been learnt that the controversial millionaire has made elaborate arrangement to send home his father.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Princess Nkeiruka Nwode, told THISDAY that the deployment of policemen to the community for the burial of late Pa Ikegwuonu was to forestall any planned attack.

Recall that the police in Anambra State had in November 2017 told journalists that two indigenes of the state currently serving prison terms in South Africa for murder, have owned up to the attack.

The state Commissioner of Police, Umar Garba, had said the suspects, Charles Obi, and Dickson Nwodi had owned up to the attack

He said the suspects vowed that there would be more attacks if their financial demands for undisclosed reasons made by certain persons were not met.

But the PPRO, Nwode said the police was working to forestall any attack, knowing that the burial of late Pa Ikegwuonu might be a good time for the suspects to strike again.

She said: “As we are speaking now, so many of our men have been deployed to the community to make sure that adequate security is provided.

“What happened on that fateful day was unfortunate and the command does not want to encounter such again in this state or elsewhere.

“Every single person or group coming for the burial will be adequately secured because the command sees the security of its citizenry as the number one priority.”

Chief Aloysius Ikegwuonu, son of the deceased had told journalists in a chat that preparations were in top gear, and he would spare nothing to give his late father a befitting burial.

He said he was still pained about what happened on the fateful day, adding that God would not allow such to happen again not only in his Ozubulu community but in the entire Anambra State.