About 11 worshipers were injured in an early-morning attack by unknown gunmen on a mosque in Ughelli, Delta state, on Friday 2nd December 2022.
The Central mosque, which is located along Okoroda Street in Ughelli, was the scene of the attack, according to a resident who spoke to Vanguard’s news agency over the phone. The attack occurred at around 06:47 a.m., while some Muslim devotees were having their morning prayers there.
According to the reports, the resident who gave his name simply as Larry, said many residents were jolted from their sleep by gunshots followed by loud cries from people inside the mosque.
“My name is Larry, I am a commercial vehicle driver here in Ughelli. I live very close to the central mosque, so this morning at about 6.45 am we heard shooting at the mosque.”
“Because of fear, many people in my compound were frightened and we remained inside only peeping through our windows.”
“As the shooting lasted, we heard loud cries from some worshippers inside the mosque,” Larry said.
He claims that when the invaders withdrew, a large number of locals flocked to the mosque in order to observe what had transpired.
Residents, he claimed, assisted in evacuating injured worshipers, and those who survived the attack sustained severe wounds.
According to Larry, some of the worshipers told the locals that the gunmen had abducted three of their fellow worshipers.
When contacted, the Delta police spokesperson, DSP Bright Edafe, confirmed the attack and said that only 11 worshippers were injured in the attack. He, however, did not confirm the abduction of three worshippers.
“I just called the DPO at Ughelli and he confirmed to me that 11 persons were injured in the attack at the mosque.”
“However, the police have commenced an investigation into the incident and we will update you as we work to unravel the culprits.”
“For now, no arrest has been made but I can assure you that we will get those involved,” Edafe said.
