The deaths resonated in Ozubulu community in Anambra state when the Catholic Church was attacked leaving more than 13 people dead on Sunday, August 6.
According to the Vanguard, the quarrel among the indigenes of Ozubulu in residing in South Africa was caused by the suspicion among them over failure to keep to business deals.
The theatre of war shifted to Amakwa village, causing last Sunday’s shooting incident at St Philip’s Catholic Church, in which 27 worshippers were also injured.
The shooting took place during 6.00am Mass.Five of its indigenes were killed this year in South Africa.
Some of the villagers revealed to Vanguard which visited Ozubulu after the Sunday killings.
“In 10 years about 30 people from this place have been killed in South Africa,” a woman who preferred anonymity for security reasons told us.
“It had to do with one deal or the other”, she said
Vanguard made inquiries about the owners of the mansions and discovered that most of their owners reside in South Africa and were either dead or had not returned home for a long time due to fear associated with the nature of their businesses.
Looking at some of the houses, it was obvious that they had been abandoned for a long time. It was gathered that many of the people who own the houses consistently contribute meaningfully towards community development through their relations, especially in the area of church building, road rehabilitation, market construction, among other projects.
Take the case of Chief Aloysius Ikegwuonu, popularly called ‘Bishop’ for instance, he started contributing towards the development of Ozubulu many years ago and before he returned home and got involved in community development. Some years ago, he was awarded a chieftaincy title by the community even in his absence due to his contributions towards the development of the community.
The Monarch of Ozubulu, Igwe Oruche confirmed that the problem started about 10 years ago when ODU, which has a branch in South Africa, wanted to elect a new President- General there. He said:
“This created a major disagreement over who would be their leader in that country and it eventually tore them apart. But the overall President General both in Ozubulu and in Diaspora, Engr. Norbert Anigbogu intervened by inviting the two factions back home for a peaceful resolution of the problem. “When they returned, a traditional oath was prepared for them to take in order to enthrone brotherliness among them and to further quell the rift between the factions, but most of them refused to take the oath on the basis that they are Christians.
“At that point, an alternative was made and a Catholic priest was invited to perform the Christian aspect of oath- taking which was done and everyone appreciated it. “But later, the conflict was rekindled by some of them who reneged the agreement made during the oath taking alleged that since I, the traditional ruler, was not present during the exercise, the reconciliation was null, void and improper.”
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