Tragedy struck at Ikwerrengwo Etche in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State as three little boys of the same parents drowned in a well inside a church premises.
The dead kids, Emmanuel Kelechi Onwuka (7), Bob-Martins Onwuka (5) and Patrick Chisom Onwuka (3) were the only children of a trader, Mr. Francis Onwuka and his wife, Stella.
They were allegedly pushed into the well by a man described as a pastor and his children on May 6, this year.
Already, the pastor (names withheld) has been arrested and detained by the Police in Port Harcourt.
Ironically, the kids met their early death few hours after they prayed with their parents in their home located near the local Redeemed Christian Church of God where the tragedy occurred.
Narrating the tragic incident to Daily Sun, the bereaved father, 51-year-old Onwuka said he had left for Aba, a neighbouring town in the state shortly after praying with the children in the morning of the fateful day.
“At about 4pm of the same day, one Chief Innocent Amah called to tell me that my three children had drowned inside the well located in the premises of the Redeemed Christian Church of God. I was dazed and confused.
“On my return, I asked what happened and my younger brother, Chijioke told me that the pastor of the church and his children pushed my children into the well. Before the incident, my wife had told me that the pastor had been warning her about our children, who he alleged, were disturbing him.
“Incidentally, it was the pastor’s children who came and called out my boys to play with them in their house on that day. This is one of the reasons I insist that they deliberately pushed my children into that well.”
A downcast Onwuka recalled also that “a strange incident” happened on April 17, this year, when the pastor and some of his church members came and swept his premises and later gave his wife a roll of toilet tissue.
“On April 17 before Easter Sunday, I returned to our house and my wife told me that the pastor and his members came and swept my compound. She said thereafter, the pastor gave her one toilet tissue. I remember telling my wife that the exercise and the gift were strange.
“Now, my three children who used that tissue have died inside the church premises. They were all that I had.”
Mr. Onwuka said his wife also told him that when she rushed to the scene after his brother, Chijioke drew her attention to the incident, she called on the pastor to come to her children’s rescue but he and his family ignored her.“Strangely, the same pastor later came to lay hands on the boys’ lifeless bodies, telling them to receive their healing. This was after a vulcanizer across the road who heard my wife’s cry, rushed to the well and brought out the boys’ bodies.”
Alleging that his innocent children might have been drowned for ritual purposes, Mr. Onwuka appealed to the police to ensure detailed investigation into the incident and give him and his family justice. Also, the grieving father urged the government to probe the activities of churches in the country. The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr. Benjamin Ugwuegbulem (DSP), could not be reached for comment as at press time.
However, dependable sources told Daily Sun that the suspect was still under interrogation.
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Already, the pastor (names withheld) has been arrested and detained by the Police in Port Harcourt.
Ironically, the kids met their early death few hours after they prayed with their parents in their home located near the local Redeemed Christian Church of God where the tragedy occurred.
Narrating the tragic incident to Daily Sun, the bereaved father, 51-year-old Onwuka said he had left for Aba, a neighbouring town in the state shortly after praying with the children in the morning of the fateful day.
“At about 4pm of the same day, one Chief Innocent Amah called to tell me that my three children had drowned inside the well located in the premises of the Redeemed Christian Church of God. I was dazed and confused.
“On my return, I asked what happened and my younger brother, Chijioke told me that the pastor of the church and his children pushed my children into the well. Before the incident, my wife had told me that the pastor had been warning her about our children, who he alleged, were disturbing him.
“Incidentally, it was the pastor’s children who came and called out my boys to play with them in their house on that day. This is one of the reasons I insist that they deliberately pushed my children into that well.”
A downcast Onwuka recalled also that “a strange incident” happened on April 17, this year, when the pastor and some of his church members came and swept his premises and later gave his wife a roll of toilet tissue.
“On April 17 before Easter Sunday, I returned to our house and my wife told me that the pastor and his members came and swept my compound. She said thereafter, the pastor gave her one toilet tissue. I remember telling my wife that the exercise and the gift were strange.
“Now, my three children who used that tissue have died inside the church premises. They were all that I had.”
Mr. Onwuka said his wife also told him that when she rushed to the scene after his brother, Chijioke drew her attention to the incident, she called on the pastor to come to her children’s rescue but he and his family ignored her.“Strangely, the same pastor later came to lay hands on the boys’ lifeless bodies, telling them to receive their healing. This was after a vulcanizer across the road who heard my wife’s cry, rushed to the well and brought out the boys’ bodies.”
Alleging that his innocent children might have been drowned for ritual purposes, Mr. Onwuka appealed to the police to ensure detailed investigation into the incident and give him and his family justice. Also, the grieving father urged the government to probe the activities of churches in the country. The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr. Benjamin Ugwuegbulem (DSP), could not be reached for comment as at press time.
However, dependable sources told Daily Sun that the suspect was still under interrogation.
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