Easter Tragedy: Local Dynamite Kills Worshiper While Acting Passion of Christ in C'River

Tragedy occurred at Holy Cross Catholic Church, Ugep, in Yakkur Local Government Area, Cross River State, on Friday when a local dynamite popularly called ogbunigwe struck a worshipper during a Passion of Christ drama.

The young man, Michael Obeten, who played Jesus, was killed after being hit by fragments from the ogbunigwe detonated to imitate the thunder described in John 12:28.

An eyewitness who spoke with *The Beagle News* called the incident pathetic and said the device was fired incorrectly.

“I have never seen or heard such a thing before. It was a live dramatisation of the Bible passage John 12:28, so they were trying to recreate the thunder,” the source said.

“The thing is, when shooting ogbunigwe during celebrations, you bury it in the ground away from stones, but this time it was placed on top of stones. The blast shattered the stones, sending debris everywhere. One piece hit Michael in the head, knocking him unconscious. This is not the first time this thing has been used, so the organisers and directors should have known better.”

He was rushed to Ugep General Hospital and later referred to the Federal Medical Centre, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, where he passed away.

Obeten was a promising young man and a graduate of Mass Communication from the University of Cross River State.