Ike Nnachi, Abakaliki
The remains of eleven Ebonyi indigenes brutally murdered in Ogboji, Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State, were on Thursday laid to rest in their various communities across Ebonyi State.
Those laid to rest were: Ikechukwu Nwafor, Ebenezer Nwigbo, Uche Alegu, Monday Ofoke, Chidera Utobo, Akam Okechukwu, Sunday Offim, Sunday Ugada, Clement Ofoke, Chidera Nwogbala, and Sunday Nweke.
The victims, who hailed from Izzi, Ikwo, and Ezza North Local Government Areas of Ebonyi State, were massacred on May 30, 2025, by gunmen while attending an Ebonyi indigenes’ meeting in Ogboji.
Seventeen people were reportedly shot during the attack, eleven of whom died instantly, while six others sustained varying degrees of injuries and were treated in different hospitals.
Tears flowed uncontrollably as the caskets of the deceased were lined up for a state funeral service at the Unity Square, Abakaliki, the state capital.
Delivering his sermon, Rev. Fr. Joseph Orji, a Catholic priest, condemned the killings, describing them as barbaric and unprovoked.
He said Ebonyi had never witnessed such a tragedy since its creation and declared that the perpetrators had committed a heinous crime for which they must answer before God.
Fr. Orji commended Governor Francis Nwifuru for according the victims a befitting burial and prayed for the repose of their souls.
“Your Excellency, we thank you for bringing all of us to this Unity Square. This gathering is symbolic. It is historic because never in our history have we seen a peaceful group, sitting together for their own wellbeing, suddenly wiped out in such a manner.
“This sad event in Ogboji has entered our history. We thank the authorities for immortalizing their names by bringing them here for a state burial. It shows the unity of our people — in grief, we are one; in joy, we are one,” he said.
Speaking with an emotion-laden voice, Governor Nwifuru expressed sadness over what he described as persistent killings of Ebonyi people in Anambra State, culminating in the Ogboji massacre.
He lamented that no arrest had been made since the attack.
“The way our people are being killed in Anambra State is unacceptable and it must stop.
“The story that later came from the Orumba South Local Government Chairman, claiming that it was Ebonyi people who killed Ebonyi people, is unfounded and provocative. Preliminary investigations show that those who carried out the massacre were not speaking Ebonyi language, yet no one has been arrested till today,” the Governor said.
Governor Nwifuru announced N10 million support for the children of one of the deceased whose wife also died after the attack, and N5 million each for the families of the other ten victims, amounting to N60 million in total.
He urged the bereaved families to invest the funds in meaningful ventures that would secure the future of the children left behind and advised them against returning to Anambra State.
