Nine
victims of Fulani herdsmen attack on Ukpabi Nimbo, an agrarian community in the
Uzo-Uwani area of Enugu State, were buried yesterday.
Several
members of the community died during the attack by Fulani herdsmen on April 25.
It
was learnt that some other victims of the attack, particularly those whose
bodies were already decomposing by the time they were discovered in the bush
many days after the incident, were buried earlier.
Also,
some other corpses have yet to be buried.
The
solemn burial ceremony attracted several dignitaries in the state, including
Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
A
former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi; the Senator representing Enugu North,
Chuka Utazi; a former minister, Nnia Nwodo, and members of the state Executive
Council and House of Assembly attended the burial service orgainsed for the
deceased.
The
victims were not given a mass burial. Bereaved families took the bodies of
their deceased to their individual compounds for burial.
Cries
of anguish were heard all over the community, as the bodies were being buried
almost simultaneously.
However,
before their bodies were committed to earth, a general burial service was held
for all the victims at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Nimbo.
During
the sermon, the Bishop of the Nsukka Catholic Diocese, Bishop Godfrey Onah,
said although the burial was a tragic event, the occasion called for
thanksgiving because the attackers did not succeed in their plan to wipe out
the entire community.
“Although
so many lives were lost, it is still an occasion for thanksgiving because they
wanted to wipe out the entire village,” Bishop Onah said, while consoling the
grieving community.
The
bishop urged the Federal Government to put necessary measures in place to
prevent another attack in Ukpabi Nimbo and other communities where herdsmen
graze their cattle.
While
speaking at the event, Governor Ugwuanyi recalled that Monday, April 25, 2016,
the day of the attack, “will ever remain a dark, sad and solemn day in the
memory of the people of Enugu State and indeed Nigerians at large.”
He
said, “It was on that day that our brothers and sisters, whose remains are
lying here before us, were ambushed and murdered in cold blood and in their own
land.
“Having
done all that was needful, including attending to the injured and the
displaced, we have assembled here, in tears and in grief, to bury the dead and
bid their innocent souls a final farewell.”
Describing
the victims as martyrs, Ugwuanyi stressed that their death would not be in
vain.
The
governor said, “We make bold to declare that their death can never be in vain
and we pledge to do all that is within our legitimate means to give them
justice.
“Like
the martyrs they have become, the spilling of their innocent blood is already
saving souls as it has aroused in our people and indeed the whole nation, a
burning impulse to do all that is necessary to prevent recurrence of similar
incidents anywhere in the country.”
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