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Suspected cultists on Saturday unleashed mayhem when they invaded the venue of a burial ceremony in Umuogbuefi village, Ebenebe in Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State, killing over 14 mourners and desecrating the corpse.
A source who spoke to The Eastern Updates pegged the number of casulties at 16. The police, however have stated that they were yet to ascertain the figure.
The Eastern Updates gathered that the incident also left scores with varying degrees of gunshot injuries.
Some of the injured persons were rushed to the hospital when the gunmen who were said to have stormed the area with tinted Toyota Corolla car left the scene.
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A resident who spoke to Sunday Sun on condition of anonymity narrated that the deceased whose funeral rite was being conducted was killed by suspected cultists last month, on January 30.
‘The guy they were doing his burial today is called Ozo. They killed him in Amansea on 30th January this year. While alive, he was a revenue collector, more of Agboro work. They called him to come and collect money.
‘When he got to Amansea Junction, he was gunned down. He was their chairman in that Amansea axis. He was newly appointed their chairman as of that time. He didn’t know he was a target.
‘So, while the lying-in-state was still ongoing, the gunmen who came with tinted Toyota Corolla arrived. Everybody thought that they were security personnel. Before they knew what was happening, they opened fire on them.
‘They killed some people and injured others. The residents had taken away about seven corpses before I arrived at the scene. Three are still there now. Information reaching me now is that some of those taken to Amaku hospital have died.
‘So, in all, about 14 people died. There may be more casualties before the end of today. Many people sustained gunshot injuries‘, the source narrated.
When contacted, the President General of the community, Paul Nnatuanya, confirmed the ugly incident, but said that the community was not informed about the funeral.
THE EASTERN UPDATES
