Emmanuel Ifeanyi 
Christ the King Procession, held on November 24, 2024 by Christ The King Cathedral (CKC) Aba, Abia State, was designed as a celebratory occasion, proclaiming Christ as the King.
However, the day went awry as undisclosed number of Catholic faithful lost their lives during the procession. Sadness and sorrow enveloped the scene as the people were thrown into mourning, and wailing over the tragic death of their loved ones.
New Telegraph observed that the 2024 edition of Christ The king Procession by the Catholic Diocese of Aba took a different dimension from the past celebrations, as all the Urban Parishes within Aba Dioceses were mandated to converge on the Cathedral premises of Christ The King Cathedral (CKC), Aba for the procession.
With the number of churches that make up the Urban Parishes of the Catholic Diocese of Aba, the population was more than what the venue could accommodate.
The security team on duty were said to be overwhelmed by throng of people that converged on the premises making it difficult for crowd control.
Celebration
Historically, Christ The King Feast is celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church on the last Sunday of the liturgical year, as a feast to mark Jesus Christ’s messianic kingship and sovereign rule over all creation.
Troubled started on this fateful when two aged women slumped inside the church premises and were rushed to a nearby hospital around Cameroon Road, and later pronounced dead.
Our correspondent gathered that the two aged women who are of the Holy Cross Parish Aba may have suffered from severe breathing challenge because of the crowd as people struggled to have foot hood and breath. Further investigation by New Telegraph revealed that the number of death is above what was initially reported as one Mrs Ella Ukaegbu and her daughter, Miss Onyinyechi Ukaegbu, aged nine years old, also died during the stampede that occurred.
The Ukaegbus are said to be staunch Catholic faithful and were parishioners at Blessed Tansi Chapel, MCC Road, Umuocham Aba. It was also gathered that another child, Miss Amarachi Izuagba, was also a victim of the Christ the King Procession stampede. She was equally a parishioner at the Blessed Tansi Chapel, MCC Road, Umuocham Aba.
However, unconfirmed source disclosed that the number of casualties could be more, as the church is yet to ascertain the numbers but have embark on investigation and visits to their parishioners to unravel the incident.
Residents react
Hyacent Nwaogu, a resident recalled that when he heard the pronouncement to the effect all the parishioners of all the urban parishes at CKC should gather together on this fateful day that he faulted the plan knowing that CKC’s premises cannot accommodate the anticipated parishioners.
“What was the security and logistics arrangements to manage such a large crowd. Given all the Catholic hospitals in the diocese, there was no medical emergency arrangements,’’ he queried. This is as he said, “Honestly, this unlike mine own Catholic church.
The diocesan leadership should wake up. May God grant the dead peaceful rest and quick healing to the sick.” Mr Chigbu Alban, a member of the church, said that the incident shows that “our diocese is still in analogue level of practice.
The small offices in the diocese has muscle than the constituted authority. He also noted that miscreants could had infiltrated the crowd on the day of the incident.
However, he cautioned the leaders, saying, ‘‘my suggestion is that the foundation of CKC should not be forgotten. The church should run the movement by inter parishes and stations. “The church should set up a body to transform the security guard of the diocese.’’
Alban also called for self-examination by the parishioners. While praying for the repose of the souls of the death, he is consoled by the fact that they died in Christ. “Mother Mary intercede for your children and Jesus see our faces starting with our Lord Bishop and give them home in your father’s Kingdom,” he prayed in an emotional and sorrowful voice.
Anayo Okafor, who was one of the people that witnessed the incident said, it was a bad experience, as he saw many injured, many collapsed and some almost half dead. He blamed the diocesan security team for not doing their job properly, stressing that their method of pushing people inside the church was one of the major reasons for the incident.
He urged Bishop Echema and the church to look into building a bigger or a mini-clinic inside the Cathedral because, “if those injured individuals where attended to immediately it shouldn’t have ended like it did,” he said.
Speaking further, Okafor said, “Even God said it, there is time for everything. The time the individuals were meant to taken out to receive treatment, they were praying. Yes, praying is good but there are urgent issues that need to be attended to.” Julius Obi said it is time to trade blames but instead to investigate the incident.
However, he condemned the manner the security team handed the crowd management. “How could they lock up the gate against the crowd and were busy pushing people back in full force forgetting that children and elderly people were there also,’’ he disclosed.
Adding, “The three gates would have remained wide opened, I believe CKC premises is wide enough to accommodate the crowd. I’m saying here that those securities guards needed to be questioned. “Henceforth, let this gathering be done on a vicariate level where about three parishes can join and do the needful.
We equally need adequate medical facility to be provided. “Honestly, this was avoidable. The church compound had more space to contain all the people that came for the event. I just don’t understand why the guard took such an act while there were still space inside and there were still people trooping into the church.’’
Aniagbaoso Kelechi, a resident of Aba, said that the Catholic Diocese of Aba over the years have been having issues of people slumping at their gatherings, but that the Sunday experience is the first time he heard that someone died. Kelechi suggested that to avert future occurrences, the Catholic Diocese of Aba must find a way to decongest the population coming to the Christ The King Procession henceforth.
He suggested that henceforth, the Bishop of Aba Catholic Diocese should instruct all urban to concentrate all their procession actions in their own parishes without coming to the CKC where the cases of huge crowd are often recorded.
According to him, “The sun was excruciating. The environment and the atmosphere were extremely unfriendly. Many people have serious health conditions and the Catholic Church as one of the most advanced churches, should know better and not work by faith like other smaller churches.
“Nobody should mock the church over this incident, but nobody also deserves to die such an avoidable death. I pray to God to grant their souls eternal rest and give their families the fortitude to bear this loss, but it must not repeat itself again.”
Church speaks
The Catholic Diocese of Aba described the incident as, “a tragic Christ The King Feast and Procession.” Augustine Echema, Catholic Bishop of Aba in his reaction said, “It is with deep regret and sadness that the annual joyful celebration of our Diocesan Feast Day which occurs every 34th Sunday of the Church year, ended yesterday 23 November, 2024, in a most tragic way.
“Some of our devout and gallant Catholics, who trooped out as usual to join the annual Eucharistic Procession in a joyful mood, met their death as a result of overcrowding during the procession.
“May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace, Amen. Investigations are still ongoing to ascertain the true narrative, identity of victims, and cause of this awful episode.
“We condole with the deceased families, and sympathize with those injured, who are still convalescing in the hospital. We earnestly pray for their quick recovery.”
Echema, however, said that the Aba Catholic Diocese pledge to support the affected families and individuals in this time of emergency, saying that the church wish to affirm that such an incident will not happen again. He said that the church will do everything possible in the future to forestall such a tragedy; the first of its kind in the annals of Christ the King Procession in Aba.
This is as he declared, “I therefore, appeal to our dynamic and gallant Catholics not to be discouraged and dampened in spirit. I reaffirm, while assuring you, that it will not happen again. “In this assurance, I entrust you all to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mother of Christ the King and Comfort of the Afflicted.”
Abia government’s position
Ferdinand Ekeoma, Special Adviser to Governor Alex Otti on Media and Publicity, said that the Abia State government received with sorrow and sadness, the news of the death of some Catholic faithful during the annual Eucharistic Procession held at the Christ the King Catholic Church, Aba, on Sunday, November 24, 2024.
According to him, “Governor Alex Otti is deeply pained by this unfortunate development, and sends his condolences to the families of the deceased and the Church at large.
“He commended the government team and the Church leadership for promptly rising to the occasion and providing medical support for victims promptly.
“The Governor promised that the emergency team of the government will work with the Church leadership to determine the remote and immediate causes of the accident and ensure against a repeat occurrence in future. “He prayed for the peaceful repose of the souls of the departed while wishing other affected persons quick recovery.”
