Youths beat Catholic priest to coma.

A Catholic priest of the St. Raphael’s Catholic Church in Ugbenu, Awka north local government area of Anambra state has been beaten to a state of coma by some youths.
The Rev. Father, identified as Fidelis Ifeanyichukwu Ugozo, was reportedly attacked on Tuesday, August 30, by youths of Obubo community in Anambra state over the suspicion that the priest and some of his followers were trying to destroy the shrine of a deity in Obubo
community. Daily Post, citing the Anambra Broadcasting Service, (ABS) reports that trouble began when the priest and some of his followers who were carrying out a rosary procession around some of the villages were stopped by one of the youth leaders in the village, Gabriel Ikegbunam, who felt the clergy man and his followers were out to burn down their deity. Ikegbunem insisted that they will not enter his village, but was confronted by the priest and his followers. Following the confrontation, Ikegbunem started making contacts, calling some youths from the village to attack the priest and others who were mainly women and children. The rampaging youths who arrived the scene armed with axes, guns and machetes, beat the Catholic priest severely and stabbed him in the face.
The priest was subsequently rushed to an undisclosed hospital in Ebenebe after the attack but was later transferred to St. Joseph’s hospital, Adazi Ani by the Ebenebe Deanery Chaplain. Speaking on the attack, a former catechist at St. Raphael’s parish Ugbenu, Cletus Nwankwo, said Obubo village is known for adulterous acts, adding that the youths suspected that the Rosary procession was aimed at destroying their deity shrine. “They moved from Agueke village to Obiagu and decided to branch at Obubo before Ikegbunam blocked them and in the process, he called some of them and told them that Catholics are coming to burn their shrine. Soon the youths trooped out, wielding dangerous weapons such as axe, gun and machetes. “They grabbed the Blessed Sacrament from our Parish Priest, hit it on the floor and used the Monstrance to hit our Parish priest on his hand before stabbing him on the face and other parts of the body” he said. As at the time of filling this report, two amongst the rampaging youths, Anthony Anigbogu and Humphrey Ekwenye, were in the custody of the State CID, Awka, while other accomplices were still at large.