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SOUTHERN NIGERIA: Benin Bishop Shot in bandit attack
Church of England Newspaper
1/6/2005
Bloodshed and carnage flawed Christmas in Benin as bandits laid siege to the southern Nigerian city on Dec 23 killing seven and wounding the Anglican Bishop.
Gunmen toting AK-47 automatic rifles shot Bishop Peter Imasuen of Benin, inaugurating a day of terror that saw the town’s banks, churches and leading citizens robbed and brutalised.
Reports from the Church of Nigeria state the car carrying Bishop Imasuen was stopped and its passengers robbed at 6:00 am on the outskirts of the city. After relieving the Bishop of his money, one gunman let loose with his weapon in a show of bravado, shooting the bishop in the abdomen.
The gunmen then entered the city and proceeded to rob buses, stores, government offices and six banks in a spree that saw seven killed and a score wounded, including the mayor of the city. Benin’s poorly equipped police force fled before the gang’s assault, barricading themselves inside their station.
When word of the violence reached the capital, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo declared martial law, sending the army to patrol the city following the collapse of order.
Archdeacon Victor Banmah of Benin reports the Bishop survived the shooting and is presently in “good condition”.
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