Seeing his face alone, tears are running down on my face. 33-year-old Ikenna Nzeribe, a survivor from the church massacre of 2012, that was attacked by Boko Haram sect. narrating to CNN's David Mattingly, how the scars on his face, neck and arm still brings back memories of that fateful day.
Nzeribe, telling his story said, they were 13 of them on that fateful day still in mourning over how the terrorist had earlier killed three of their church members when they stormed in and started shooting sporadically, shouting "Allah Hu Akbar," meaning god is great. They shot other members in the head and on getting to him he began to plead the blood of Jesus knowing it was his end.
Nzeribe, telling his story said, they were 13 of them on that fateful day still in mourning over how the terrorist had earlier killed three of their church members when they stormed in and started shooting sporadically, shouting "Allah Hu Akbar," meaning god is great. They shot other members in the head and on getting to him he began to plead the blood of Jesus knowing it was his end.
Nzeribe, a handsome banker, was shot in the face with an AK-47 assault rifle, blowing away his jaw, lips and part of his tongue. He faked death.....He bled profusely.Rescuers took him to a local hospital in Mubi, a suburban area in northeastern Nigeria where he was part of a Christian minority and where the mass shooting in church occurred. He was later flown to London, where surgeons reconstructed his face. Nzeribe recalled looking in the mirror for the first time post-surgery what he saw was “a very different person,” Nzeribe said, shaking his head.
He stopped the interview, wiping away the tears and finding composure after long breaths. A zigzagging scar runs up Nzeribe’s chin to his upper lip. His mouth is even more disfigured, but at least he can talk, in soft tones. And he has a great laugh, though he can’t smile.
He’s had more than a dozen surgeries, with more pending. He’s now recovering in Houston, where he receives treatment and lives with his wife and their baby, joining a Nigerian immigrant community whose residents find the climate similar to their native country’s. His attorney, Frank C. Onyenezi, is working on Nzeribe’s immigration status. A devout Christian whose tale has been publicized in the religious press, he said has forgiven the gunmen of Boko Haram, whose mass abduction of Nigerian schoolgirls has outraged the international.Watch the clip below....
He stopped the interview, wiping away the tears and finding composure after long breaths. A zigzagging scar runs up Nzeribe’s chin to his upper lip. His mouth is even more disfigured, but at least he can talk, in soft tones. And he has a great laugh, though he can’t smile.
He’s had more than a dozen surgeries, with more pending. He’s now recovering in Houston, where he receives treatment and lives with his wife and their baby, joining a Nigerian immigrant community whose residents find the climate similar to their native country’s. His attorney, Frank C. Onyenezi, is working on Nzeribe’s immigration status. A devout Christian whose tale has been publicized in the religious press, he said has forgiven the gunmen of Boko Haram, whose mass abduction of Nigerian schoolgirls has outraged the international.Watch the clip below....
