The origins of the bloody Sunday massacre at the St. Phillip’s Catholic Church, Ozubulu in Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State, have been severally reported to be as a fallout of the competitive drug trade in South Africa run by migrants from Ozubulu.
Now, Independent is reporting that over 30 men from the community had previously been killed in South Africa, and their bodies conveyed home for burial. The culmination of the gangsterism and violence is what led to the death of 12 innocents as they attended church service.
Professor Linus Amobi Ilika, former Commissioner of Health in Anambra State and pro-life activist, confirmed to INDEPENDENT that many sons of the community had been slain in South Africa as a result of the drug trade, he however denied that High Chief Aloysius Nnamdi Ikegwuonwu who built the church and was reportedly the target of the assassin was in anyway involved in the drug trade.
Ilika did however concede that the source of the High Chief’s money was unknown.
He said, “He has not been charged or arrested for such offence.”
“There had been shootings in South Africa and they bring down the corpses of our people living in South Africa. The person who built the church resides in South Africa. There is likely to be dispute and struggle among them but I cannot say exactly what the issues are.
“But for whatever it is there is no single justification for assassinations and invasion of a place of worship and committing of such mass killing of innocent worshipers in a place of worship”.
A source also revealed to INDEPENDENT that drug barons from Ozubulu control 60% of the wholesale drug trade in South Africa.
INDEPENDENT reports:
The source alleged that Ikegwuonwu, also known as Bishop, is at the centre of the crisis and controlled a cartel in SANS, Hillbrow/Berea, Johannesburg.
He said there was a time when there was a serious fight for the soul of SANS.
He said a long time ago, Bishop allegedly invited his high school classmate and friend to manage his cartel, even though he also brought a lot of Ozubulu boys from Nigeria to help him secure SANS.
Six years later, the source said, Ikegwonwu’s manager (the former classmate) told him he was resigning to start his own business.
“Ikegwuonwu then asked him to leave SANS and go somewhere else to start his own trade. The manager (I have forgotten his name now) refused to leave SANS. Some people alleged Ikegwuonwu paid him money to leave SANS but he refused”, he noted. The source said nobody heard about the manager thereafter.
“Ikegweonwu asked all drug barons to leave SANS for him alone. Some left while some stayed back.”
He said that was when the fight started.
“2016 was the worst year for Ozubulu people in South Africa. Over 30 drug barons were killed”, he noted.
The source said the church shooting was targeted at Ikegwuonwu’s father just to hurt him and force him out of hiding.
Leave a Reply