Seminarian dies while playing 'Peter' in Easter drama in Imo

 

The entire community of the Claretian University of Nigeria, Nekede, in Owerri, Imo State, was thrown into a state of tragedy as a seminarian slumped and died while acting in a campus drama.

The drama is a depiction of the sufferings and eventual crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

The incident happened on Friday, April 15, 2022, when the deceased was enacting the character of biblical St Peter in the 'Passion of Christ' drama.

'Passion of Christ' is a drama piece which describes the sufferings and eventual crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

The deceased has been identified as Suel Ambrose, a 25-year-old first year student of Philosophy in the institution.

According to multiple reports, some of the students who witnessed the incident said the Benue state indigene suddenly slumped while in character and died on the spot.

As reported by Punch, a student who simply identified himself as Mavis said the incident created a state of confusion in the school community.

Mavis said, “He was playing the role of the biblical Peter in the dream and that process when Peter cut the ear of one of the soldiers and Jesus fixed the ear and ask Peter to let them do their wish. You know how passionate the play is.

So when the soldiers chase the disciples to drive them away from Jesus, the young man fell on the floor and started bleeding. We took him to our school hospital and the doctors did their best but he was not responding to treatment. We took him to the Federal Medical Center in Owerri where he was pronounced dead.

“The drama was in commemoration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in respect to the Easter celebration. He was born in 1997. He is a year one student and had the dream of becoming a priest in the Catholic church.”

The priest in charge of Student Formation in the university, Fr Chukwuemeka Iheme, when contacted by Punch, said that "the institution would brief the public after the “authority gives us permission to do so.”

The school has since suspended all activities relating to Easter celebration in the school.