Gunmen on Sunday stormed the St. Philips Catholic Church, Ozubulu in Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra state, east of Nigeria. A witness told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday that the gunmen went into the church during the 5:45 a.m. mass and identified a particular man and shot him.

He said that they later went on rampage and shot at the remaining over 100 worshippers. Scores of people were killed in the church while other critically injured worshippers died on the way to the Nnamdi Azikiwe Teaching Hospital, Nnewi. The motive of the attackers was not clear.

The source, however, said the priest of the church was not wounded in the incident. The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Garba Umar, confirmed the incident, adding that more details would be given after investigations.

Unconfirmed reports available to Drum newsonline say that the incident might have been as a result of a drug deal involving some indigenes of the town resident in South Africa, which went awry. One of the victims was said to be the father of one of the kingpins. A sizable number of young men from the town do business in South Africa and before now, some of them had been killed in unclear circumstances, the source further volunteered. Until the police comes out with the result of their investigations no one can safely say the real cause of the massacre in a house of God.

(NAN)