The target of the gunmen who stormed St. Philips Catholic Church, Ozubulu in Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State, has been identified.
His name was given as Aloysius Ikegwuonwu, a Nigerian based in South Africa.
Identified as a businessman, he was said to have built the church in which close to 20 persons have been confirmed dead and several others injured.
It was gathered that Ikegwuonwu was in the community on Tuesday but unknown to the attackers, he left on Thursday.
On getting to the church and discovering he was absent, the gunmen turned on his father, Pa Akunwafor Ikegwuonwu, shooting him to death immediately.
His mother was also said to have been shot in the arm by the attackers.
She is said to still be in the hospital as at the time of filing this report.
Reports have it that South Africa-based Ikegwuonwu was involved in a business face-off, leading to the planned attack on him.
The Commissioner of Police, Anambra State Command, Garba Umar, confirmed this much when he briefed newsmen on Sunday.
Umar said: “Intelligence report/Preliminary investigation shows that the incident is as a result of a feud between two individuals who are from the community but who live outside Nigeria, one of the individuals we learnt, built the church where the incident occurred. It is definitely not a terrorist attack in the mould of Boko Haram or Fulani herdsmen attack.”
