12 Killed During Church Service in Nigeria; Pope Condemns Violence
The police commissioner for Anambra State, Garba Umar, said the shooting was "not unconnected
to a kind of a ‘gang war’ " involving drug lords active in both Nigeria and South Africa.
Willie Obiano said that We are dealing with a dangerous gang war that has spilled over to Anambra State from another African country,
8, 2017
LAGOS, Nigeria — At least 12 people were killed, and 18 others injured, in a shooting during Mass at a Roman
Catholic church in southeastern Nigeria on Sunday, according to local authorities and the Vatican.
Mr. Obiano said he had gotten phone calls from Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, who is in London for medical treatment,
and from Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who is acting as president.
Pope Francis was "deeply saddened" by the attack and invoked "the divine blessings of consolation
and strength" upon the diocese, the Vatican’s secretary of state wrote in a message on Monday to Bishop Hilary Paul Odili Okeke of Nnewi, the diocese that includes the church.
"This is the first and the last of this appalling crime." According to the authorities, gunmen drove up to the gate of the Catholic Church of St. Philip
in the town of Ozubulu, about 16 miles south of the city of Onitsha, around 6 a.m. on Sunday, and stopped halfway through the gate, blocking it.
Gang-related violence is not uncommon in towns like Ozubulu, where drug cartels are active; one even
occurred recently during the funeral of a reputed gang member who had died in South Africa.