Ozubulu youths under the umbrella body of Ozubulu Youths Association (OYA) on Monday protested the reopening of St Philips Catholic Church, Amakwa Ozubulu, Anambra State, on Sunday barely a week after gunmen attacked worshippers in the church.

The youths who labelled the killings as attack of their people without provocation accused police of inability to bring the people to book.

The youths took their match from Ozubulu Motor Park opposite Ekwusigo Local Government headquarters in Ozubulu, round the villages in the community to the Ozoubulu Police station to the palace of the traditional ruler of the community Obi Fidelis Nnamdi Oruche before they retired to the park.

They regretted the attack on innocent worshippers who only came to worship saying that enough is enough on the attack of the innocent people of the community.

Addressing journalists shortly after the peaceful protest, President of OYA, Comrade Emeka Anakwe, a Port Harcourt based Clearing and Forwarding Agent, condemned the opening of the church 7days of the killing of 13 people even when investigations were yet to be concluded.

He said: “It is worrisome that the church where over 13 people were gruesomely killed by gunmen would be reopened for service one week after the attack for service, when investigation into the matter has not been concluded contrary to the earlier promise by the Nnewi Diocese that it will be closed temporarily for service until police finish their investigations.

“Reopening the church is highest level disregard for the dead and wounded people of Ozubulu, the youths see it as provocation to the families and relations of the victim, for the youths to see the church holding service when the community is still mourning their death. It is what we cannot accept, if it is not to tell us that we cannot do anything.”

Comrade Anakwe noted that the youths of Ozubulu are concerned about the attack because according to him, the entire people of Ozubulu are now living in fears adding that they cannot sleep.

He said: “We cannot sleep comfortably any more, and our people can no longer sleep with their eyes closed because of fear of re-occurrence.”

“We have in the past seen a situation where a security man was caught with fresh human head and was arrested but when we did not see him being prosecuted, we started asking questions, but we were told that the matter is in the court.

“We are not happy that when incident like this happen it is swept under the carpet, we are peaceful people we are not into crimes, in the past people from Nnewi, Nnobi, Oraifite and other neighbouring towns come here in Ozubulu to drink and relax because of peaceful atmosphere, our town has always play host to people from other communities in the state because of its peaceful nature, but today that situation is being eroded with these nasty stories of killings happening here.”

He further explained that crime took over the community because of the community’s elders neglect of their youths for so long saying that they will no longer accept such disposition from the elders of the community as they are prepared to play active role in the issues that affect the community and the people.

“We must take our destiny in our hands. We hear stories of our youth fighting and killing themselves, over disagreement in business, other stories of certain people being drug peddlers, and fight over who becomes the President General of the community in Ozubulu and in the Diaspora, all those stories are trash, they are not true.

“When we have issues of who becomes president general of Ozubulu Development Union (ODU), there was to be an election and when it became clear that it will result in crisis, the government stepped in and appointed Caretaker Committee President of ODU and we have been having peace since that appointment.

“If there is crisis among youths in and outside the country, we can settle it amicably, so all we want is police to come out and tell us those behind the killing of our people worshiping in the church.”

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