Lawyer demands justice for victims of Anambra church attack

Human rights lawyer, Barrister Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has described Sunday’s attack on St. Andrew’s Anglican Church, Isiokwe, in the Lilu community of Anambra State, as “a sacrilegious and barbaric assault on humanity and faith”.

In a statement, yesterday, Ejiofor, demanded justice for the victims of the attack and adequate protection of worshippers in the state and across the country, stressing that churches occupy a sacred place in Christian life and should never be scenes of violence.

“There are few spaces on earth regarded with such reverence, solemnity, and spiritual sanctity as the Church of God,” he said.

“Among Christendom, the Church is not merely a physical structure; it is a universal sanctuary, a sacred refuge where the faithful gather to commune with their Creator, seek forgiveness, meditate upon the Eternal Word, and be strengthened by holy fellowship.”

Two people, including the wife of a cleric, were killed on Sunday, when unknown gunmen launched a violent attack on the church.

Witnesses said the armed men invaded the church in the early hours of Sunday as worshippers were preparing for service. The pastor’s wife was murdered, sparking outrage within the community and across human rights circles.

Ejiofor stressed that places of worship are meant to be safe havens and should be free from violence.

“A place of worship is the last place where one expects the venomous stench of violence, bloodshed, or brutality. It is a sanctuary, not a slaughterhouse,” he said.

He said what was supposed to be a routine Sunday service at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church was violently disrupted when armed men attacked worshippers.

“What was meant to be a routine Sunday worship at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church, Isiokwe, Lilu community, was violently transformed into a grotesque theatre of horror, a desecration so abominable that words scarcely suffice to capture its gravity,” Ejiofor stated.

He described the attackers as “men whose souls appear to have been fully surrendered to the devil; men devoid of humanity, conscience, or fear of God,” who invaded the church and unleashed terror upon innocent worshippers during prayers.

“By the time the smoke cleared, and the terrified cries faded, two innocent worshippers lay dead, murdered in cold blood within the very house of God. This is not just violence. This is not merely criminality. This is blasphemy against God and humanity; sacrilege of the highest order. An unpardonable assault on our collective conscience,” he declared.

While admitting that security agencies had commenced investigations, Ejiofor frowned at the slow pace often associated with such probes and called for decisive action.

“Once again, as so often happens, security agencies have begun what appears to be the usual slow-paced investigation and manhunt for the perpetrators. But we must ask ourselves, what motivates human beings, if, indeed, they are human, to desecrate a holy sanctuary and spill innocent blood on the Lord’s Day?

“Are these assailants truly of our land? Are they sons of our soil? Or are they deranged invaders, moral aliens whose hearts have long been darkened beyond recognition?”

“I, therefore, condemn this atrocious, barbaric, and godless act in the strongest terms human language can muster. No explanation will ever suffice. No justification can ever be entertained. This is pure evil,” he said.

He called on the security agencies and the Anambra State government to deploy “every lawful mechanism of the State to unmask, apprehend, and prosecute the perpetrators”.