By Emmanuel Nduka
After seeing dead bodies littered at the Federal Medical Center (FMC) Mortuary in Owerri, Imo State, Head of the Owerri Catholic Archdiocese, Archbishop Anthony J.V. Obinna, has broken down in grief over the rain of killings going on in the state by men of the Nigerian military.
The Cleric while delivering a homily on Sunday during a Mass celebration with Owerri Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Men Organization at Maria Assumpta Cathedral, said he is deeply worried over the senseless killing of youths, adding that there are scores of unidentified corpses lying in the FMC mortuary with varying degrees of decomposition.
“I visited the FMC morgue in the past week and what I saw in the place, shocked me beyond description. I saw what I can call corpses yard. They were mainly lifeless bodies of our youths, the fathers of tomorrow, who were senselessly mowed down by both the state and non-state actors.
“The question we must ask now is: With the rate of killing in our land today, are we likely going to have fathers in the days ahead? Only a few hours ago, I got wind of killings by soldiers and the arson that followed at Izombe, Oguta local government area of our state. Bloodletting is getting off hand.
“Soldiers have been pumped into the South East, thus militarizing the area, to the discomfort and temptation of the citizenry,” he decried.
While mentioning that a death threat is now hanging on the necks of the bishops that took part in the recent meeting with governors in Enugu State, he added that he is not scared to die at his age.
“What will anybody or group gain, if they kill me? At over 70, I am already heading to my grave. Anybody that kills me now, did not do it early. Also threatened is the Catholic Archbishop of Onitsha, Most Rev. Valarian Okeke. Let’s see how far the planners will go,” he added.
