A vicious attack by Islamist extremists Boko Haram in 2012 at a Nigerian church left 13 worshippers dead, with one man, Ikenna Nzeribe, barely surviving. Still recovering in America, Nzeribe says he was able to escape death by pretending he was already dead after he was shot in the face.
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Nzeribe, a banker (pictured before the attack below), was attending church in Mubi, just 60 
miles away from where Boko Haram soldiers kidnapped nearly 300 schoolgirls from the Chibok region. In an interview, Nzeribe described the terrible details of that day and how he managed to live to tell his tale.
CNN reports:
The Muslim extremists fired shots into the air and shouted “Allah Hu Akbar,” or God is great.
Nzeribe and 13 other Christians hit the floor.
They were mourning how Boko Haram earlier had killed three fellow Christians, but now Boko Haram was coming for them.
The masked gunmen shot the 13 worshippers in the head, fatally.
Now it was Nzeribe’s turn.
“As soon as I saw the man, I knew it was over for me,” Nzeribe, 33, said about the gunman. “The only thing I could do was say a last prayer, which was ‘Blood of Jesus cover me.’
Nzeribe says a man shot him in the face with an AK-47 assault rifle, blowing off his jaw, lips and part of his tongue.
Of the horrific experience, Nzeribe says, “I would say I died in the process,” Nzeribe added. “But God brought me back to life.”
He was then flown to London to receive emergency reconstructive surgery to his face. After several surgeries and emotional struggle, Nzeribe is now able to talk.
Now, Nzeribe resides in Houston with his wife and baby in a Nigerian immigrant community. Nzeribe remains strong in his Christian faith and says he forgives the Boko Haram soldiers for their heinous attack, “The first thing I did was to forgive them,” Nzeribe said. “Had they known better, they couldn’t do that.”
Of Boko Haram leader Abubaker Shekau, Nzeribe says that the terrorist is intent on following through with his ill intentions, “Everything he says he will do, he does them,” Nzeribe said. “It gives them a sense of fulfillment and makes them want to do more.
“Just like al Qaeda, they are very, very destructive,” he added.
Watch Ikenna Nzeribe discuss his near-death experience with Boko Haram here:
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