Four young children from the same family were brutally hacked to death by a pastor’s driver in Eche Ezema village, Igbo Eze South, Enugu State. The tragedy unfolded after an alleged dispute involving the driver, who has since fled the area. The children belonged to a local palm kernel merchant named Chinonso, also known as Okwudike. On the day of the attack, the children were left alone while their mother went to Nkwo Ibagwa market to buy palm kernels.
Sources reveal the suspect works for Pastor Chinedu Ezedike of the Sabbath Presbyterian Church in the community. After the attack, the driver reportedly carried the children’s bodies to a nearby cassava farm, hiding them under cassava stems and leaves before escaping. The pastor and the merchant’s families live close to each other, sharing a boundary fence that the driver is said to have climbed to carry out the attack.
The parents of the children found the bodies in the farm and were overwhelmed with grief, both collapsing and needing hospital care. The children’s bodies were taken to the morgue. The horrific incident sparked outrage among residents, leading to protests demanding government action to arrest the suspect and investigate the killings.
Local government chairman Chief Ugo Ferdinand Ukwueze condemned the act and promised justice. He described the church as a cover for harmful activities and confirmed prior reports that the children’s family had faced threats from a man named Mathew, including earlier attacks with a pestle and an iron rod. These incidents had been reported to the church leadership, but no action was taken. The government has launched a full investigation and visited the church to collect evidence related to the crime.
