Reactions have continued to trail the shooting incident by Joseph Enyinnaya of St Columbus Catholic Church in Amaimo, in the Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State, which resulted in the death of a yet-to-be-identified young man.
Rev Fr Enyinnaya was on December 31, 2024, alleged to have been angered by the torrents of fireworks thrown into the church and fired gunshots that resulted in the death of a young man, while another was receiving treatment for a gunshot wound on the neck.
South-South PUNCH reports that residents around the St Columbus Catholic Church vicinity claimed that the deceased boy was a visitor to the community, but feigned ignorance about his identity or that of his family.
Efforts to locate the family of the deceased boy proved abortive as everyone around Nkwo Amaimo, in Ikeduru Local Government Area, about one pole to the church claimed ignorance of the family affected, fuelling silence conspiracy fears.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Archbishop of Owerri Archdiocese, Most Rev Lucius Ugorji has expressed regrets over the incident and called for calm, even as he prayed for the repose of the man’s soul.
Some villagers, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of their lives, claimed that the priest had mistaken the fireworks sound as a gunshot and fired into the air to scare away what he thought were fleeing gunmen trying to attack the church and worshippers.
Meanwhile, the priest is currently in police custody as investigations continue.