Easter Tragedy: Cannon Blast Kills Man Acting As Jesus In Cross River

A young man, Michael Obeten, has been killed after being hit by debris from a cannon blasted during a dramatisation of the passion of Christ in Ugep, Yakurr local government area of Cross River State.

Family sources said that Obeten, an ardent Catholic of the Holy Cross Catholic Parish, Ugep, had been acting the part of Jesus Christ during the church’s depiction of the last hours before the crucifixion.

“It was a dramatic recreation of the Bible story, and we had to recreate the sound of thunder as mentioned in John 12:28,” a source explained.

The incident occurred when a piece of the explosive cannon flew off and hit Obeten on the head, knocking him unconscious.

“He was immediately taken to the General Hospital in Ugep, but was later referred to the Federal Medical Centre, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, for specialist medical care,” a family source revealed.

The family source said unfortunately, Obeten’s condition didn’t improve, and he passed on, leaving behind a father confined to a wheelchair, who he was caring for almost single-handedly.

The source told LEADERSHIP that the deceased was a Mass Communication graduate from the University of Cross River State, stressing that Micheal was a devoted son and a pillar of support to his family.

Commenting on the issue, Mathew Ibiang said, “The young man died during a theatrical performance as he was trying to re-enact the biblical story, that represents the last days of Jesus Christ, typically performed during Easter celebrations.”