Matilda Omonaiye/
The primary target of the horrific attack on worshippers at a Catholic Church in Anambra State is a drug lord, popularly known as Bishop.
Bishop, whose real name is Aloysius Nnamdi Ikegwuonu, is said to be a notorious figure in the drug underworld in Nigeria and South Africa.
36-year-old Ikegwuonu is also a very popularly figure in the Catholic fold, especially within the Nnewi diocese. He is one of the church’s major benefactors and has built a number of ultra-modern churches for the diocese.
The latest was the St. Aloysius Church of Divine Mercy, in Ozubulu, which he built to commemorate his 35th birthday, last year.
He is also a traditional chief in Ozobulu, a philanthropist and prominent indigene of Anambra, with alleged close links with the state government.
Ikegwuonu bears the title of Ebubechukwuzo, Akuchinyere Nwata 1, Uzochukwu koala 1 of Umueje.
Sources familiar with Ikegwuonu’s criminal activities disclosed in a Facebook post that the sequence of events that led to the church massacre started in South Africa
According to the source, who once lived in South Africa, a gang war broke out between two drug cartels, in 2015, which resulted in the death of over 15 people, both in South Africa and Nigeria.
He said the war was about the control and ownership of territories where hard drugs are sold in South Africa.
The development forced a lot Nigerians, particularly those from the eastern parts, to flee South Africa, in 2016, when the war was at its peak. That was when Ikegwuonu too returned to Nigeria.
Upon his return, he set up a foundation (Ebubechukwu Uzo Foundation) with which he undertook a lot of community-oriented projects.
He once gave gave out N10 million to 10 beneficiaries to start various businesses and pays a monthly stipend of N10,000 to widows and aged people in Ozubulu.
His philanthropy was said to have caught the attention of Governor Willie Obiano, who allegedly invited him to witness the take off of a road project, in April.
It is also said that he usually donates new vehicles to all newly-ordained priests in Nnewi diocese, the last being the donation of three vehicles to three new priests, on July 22.
He is said to be currently building an ultra-modern market in Ozobulu.
A gunman had walked calmly into the St. Philips Catholic Church, Ofufe Amakwa Ozubulu, in Ekusigo Local Government Area, early yesterday, and opened fire on horrified worshippers, killing 11 people.
No fewer than 15 others sustained gunshot wounds in the cold-blooded attack.
Police, however, said result of preliminary investigation revealed that the attack was carried out by someone in the locality.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Garba Umar, had stated: “From our findings, it is very clear that the person who carried the attack must be an indigene of the area.
“We gathered that worshipers for 6 o’clock Sunday mass at St. Philip, Ozobulu were in the service when a gunman dressed in black attire covering his face with a cap entered the church and moved straight to a particular direction and opened fire.
“The man after shooting at his targeted victims still went on a shooting spree, killing and wounding other worshippers.’’
Umar further revealed that the attack was a spillover of an ongoing war between rival drug gangs operating outside the country, whose “members are indigenes of Anambra State”.
According to him, the attackers trailed a key member of a rival gang to the church, expecting that he would be worshipping there.
He said that the target of the attack, whose has now been revealed to be Ikegwuonu, was the one that built the church and also built other churches in the area.
He added that his father was among the first eight people already confirmed dead from the attack.
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