2 worshippers killed, others hospitalized as gunmen attack celestial church

No less than two persons have been killed on Sunday, October 16, 2022, as some yet-to-be identified gunmen attacked a Celestial Church of Christ at Felele, Lokoja, Kogi State.

It was gathered that the assailants invaded the church during a worship programme, and started to shoot sporadically.

According to an eyewitness who spoke on this incident on a condition of anonymity, while the two worshippers died on the spot, three other people got injured and were taken to the Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja, for treatment.

“When they entered, they started shooting at everyone outside the church. I went and hid inside a cassava farm. What I saw yesterday was like an action film. Kogi is no longer safe,” the eyewitness stated.

Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Kogi State, William Ovye-Aya released a statement that read thus: “It was a distress call that the Divisional Police Officer of B Division, Felele, received that hoodlums invaded a Celestial Church behind the NNPC Mega Station and they began shooting. Two people were confirmed dead in a hospital, while three are receiving treatment.”

The Commissioner of Police in Kogi, Edward Egbuka, according to the state PPRO, had ordered that the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) charge of investigation to commence investigation to unravel the cause of the attack with a view to arresting the perpetrators.