Panic and fear gripped Christian worshippers in Umunze, Orumba North Local Government Area, Anambra State on Sunday, when armed soldiers stormed different churches in the morning hours and dispersed the congregation in their places of worship.
The soldiers took over the community with a stern warning that no church service, movement or market would be allowed in the area till further notice.
A witness, Obika Ezeka, said they were traumatised when they heard gunshots at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church as worshippers arrived for the 6am Mass.
She said they were waiting for the priest to begin the Mass when one of the armed soldiers marched to the altar and asked everybody to leave the church.
According to her, the soldier, whose identity could not be ascertained, told the congregation that their colleagues were murdered on Thursday night by gunmen in the town, and there would be no movement or market till further notice.
Similarly, several armed soldiers invaded Holy Rosary Catholic Church, and SS Peter and Paul Catholic Church, disrupted the service and ordered parishioners, including priests, to leave.
Another witness, who identified himself as Ejike, said the soldiers came to St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Lomu Umunze, when a teacher was moderating the Bible Study, asked him to drop the microphone and ordered everybody out of the church.
An unconfirmed report said some of the soldiers brazenly descended on male worshippers with canes and belts for resisting their unlawful invasion of the places of worship.
It was reported that some people, including commercial cyclists and drivers found on the road on Sunday were arrested and forced to pull down a building that served as office for tipper drivers. The community quickly turned to a ghost town, as traders hurriedly locked their shops at the busy Nkwo Market.
A stranded mother, Nze Euphemia, lamented that the sudden shutdown of the market left many people starving, with no food at home. She said the soldiers would have announced a curfew so that people could buy essential food items and drugs before the sudden lockdown.
A native of Umunze said the town has been under siege by criminals that operate from neighbouring states.
According to him, more than 15 people have been kidnapped in Umunze in recent time, and huge sums of money paid as ransom before they were released.
The hoodlums recently attacked a public phone-charging centre in the town and carted away all the phones. He pleaded with the government to set up military checkpoints on Umuchu and Ogbunka roads, which have become the escape route for the kidnappers and gunmen terrorising the town.
The military checkpoints at Nawfia and Ihitte, according to him, cannot safeguard the long stretch of road from Umuchu to Ogbunka, thereby allowing kidnappers and notorious gunmen to terrorise Umunze town and escape to neighbouring states.
