■Priest arrested on the pulpit, stripped naked, arraigned in court
■ Community alleges victmisation, intimidation of indigenous priest
By HENRY UMAHI
kinghenrysun@yahoo.com
St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Mmaku, Awgu Local Government Area of
Enugu State, is like a flock without shepherd. For some months, no
priest has come to conduct mass there, hence, the parishioners have
resorted to self-help, doing their thing their own way.
Daily Sun arrived at the Church at about 10.17am on Sunday, October 13
and saw the unusual scenario playing out. Stepping into the auditorium,
it was easy to notice that something was amiss.
The orderliness and solemnity that usually characterised worship
services in the Catholic Church were somewhat lacking. The pulpit was
vacant, while the instruments of worship, such as candles and Holy
Eucharist, were not in place. No priest was in church, just as mass
servers were nowhere to be found. A woman lay leader was handling
proceedings that day.
Instructively, there was no adult male in the congregation. Only elderly
and not-so-young women and children were inside the auditorium. It was
gathered that youths and men shun the church to avoid being arrested by
policemen, who had allegedly laid a siege to the community.
A notice was posted on one of the doors, saying: “We condemn in strong
terms the sacrilegious arrest of our priest at morning mass at the altar
of most high God by Nigerian policemen (State CID Enugu).”
Offering insight into the state of St. Theresa’s parish, Mmaku, a
parishioner, Sister Doris Ani, said: “No priest conducted mass for us
today because our parish priest, Rev Fr. James Ani, was taken to the
State CID, Enugu. From the State CID, Fr Ani was taken to Enugu prisons.
That was why there was no priest to conduct service for us today.”
She added: “All the allegations being made against Fr Ani are all lies.
He was born and bred here. He was also ordained in this community, so we
know him very well. Our people know that all the allegations against
him were made in bad faith. He is not a thief; he never stole anything.”
The Mmaku Catholic community, it was gathered, had been swirling in
crises of immense proportion for about four years now. The crises
reached a crescendo on Saturday, September 21 when Rev Fr. Ani, who was
celebrating morning Mass, was attacked on the pulpit. He was stripped
naked, beaten mercilessly, handcuffed and bundled into a vehicle by
policemen from the Enugu Police Command, Criminal Investigation
Department.
Priest in the dock
The priest has been remanded in Enugu Prisons since Tuesday, September
25. He is one of the 1, 202 Awaiting Trial Male (ATM) in the facility
holding 81 convicts.
Daily Sun met Fr. Ani at the prisons on October 13 and he looked calm.
But when he spoke, there was pain and anguish in his voice. Narrating
his journey to the prison, Fr. Ani said that he was arrested while
celebrating mass on the pulpit on September 21 when armed policemen
invaded the church and the community. According to him, he was
thoroughly dehumanised, humiliated and brutalised.
He said: “The policemen stormed the church while I was on the altar and
ordered me to remove my clothes otherwise, they will shoot me. So, they
stripped me naked and beat me blue and black. They handcuffed me behind
my back and threw me into their vehicle. I pleaded with them to stop
beating me but they beat me the more. When we got to the station, they
threw me on the ground and one of them, a woman, put sand into my mouth.
Some of them spat on me and called me all sorts of names.”
Asked what he meant by being stripped naked, the priest said that he was
as naked as Adam, when he was taken from the altar and brought to the
State CID.
Indeed, Fr. Ani and some parishioners, including Ugwu Marcel (31), Obasi
Felix (60), Nobert Eke, Udeorji Fabian (30), Maduabuchi Mgbeji (30) and
Solomon Udeafor (29) are in Enugu prison. They were recently arraigned
on a four-count charge in the Magistrate’s Court of Enugu State, in
Enugu North Magisterial District vide charge no: MEN/531c/2013. It
reads: Count 1: “That you Rev. Fr. James Ani ‘m,’ Ugwu Marcel ‘m,’ Obasi
Felix ‘m,’ Nobert Eke ‘m’ and others at large on 18th day of September,
2013 at about 1600hrs at Imeohia Mmaku village in Awgu magisterial
district while armed with weapons such as cutlasses, machetes and sticks
attempted unlawfully to kill one Inspector Cosmos Nzeribe and a team of
police officers attached to police headquarters Enugu in such a nature
as to be likely to endanger human life and you hereby committed an
offence and punishable under section 275 (a) of the criminal code, cap
30, vol.ii, revised laws of Enugu State of Nigeria 2004.
“Count II: That you (the above mentioned) and others now at large on the
afore said date, place and time and the aforementioned magisterial
district while armed with offensive weapons such as cutlasses, machetes
and sticks unlawfully assaulted one Inspector Cosmos Nzeribe and a team
of officers with intent to commit felony therein or prevent the lawful
arrest of you and others you thereby committed an offence and punishable
under section 259 (a) of the criminal code cap 30, vol. ii of the
revised laws of Enugu State of Nigeria 2004.
“Count III: That you (names mentioned above) on the aforementioned date,
place and time in the aforesaid magisterial district did willfully and
unlawfully damaged a Toyota Corolla car no. KPP 450 XA valued at about
N450, 000 with the intention to render it useless the property of
Egbucha Beluolisa and you thereby committed offence and punishable under
section 415 (6) and (g) of the criminal code cap 30 vol.ii revised laws
of Enugu State of Nigeria 2004.
“Count IV: That you (names mentioned above) on the aforementioned date,
place and time in the aforesaid magisterial district did willfully and
unlawfully damaged a Toyota Corolla car no. XY 770 ENU valued about
N650, 000 with the intention to render it useless property of Ezeugwu
Innocent and you thereby committed an offence and punishable under
section 415 (6) (g) of the criminal code cap 30, vol. ii, revised laws
of Enugu State of Nigeria 2004.”
The charges were later amended to include armed robbery and kidnapping
among others. Udeorji Fabian, Mgbeji Maduabuchi and Udeafor Solomon were
also arraigned on similar charges and remanded in prison custody
pending the advice of the Director of Public Prosecution DPP.”
Genesis
But how did the Church get to this sorry pass? Investigation revealed
that there is a raging ‘war’ over the control of the soul of St.
Theresa’s church, Mmaku. The parishioners and the leadership of the
church are at loggerheads over the appointment of a priest to run the
affairs of the parish. While church leadership posted a certain priest
(names withheld by us) to the parish, the parishioners preferred a son
of the soil, Fr. Ani. Or so it seemed.
Ironically, Fr. Ani had been in the eye of the storm. He had been
having issues with some powerful interests. While school of thought
dress him in the robe of a victim of high wire politics in the church,
another labeled him a rebel, who had no respect for constituted
authority. To justify this position, they pointed at his short stay in
the army, where he served for about seven years only.
But Fr. Ani attributed his predicament to his penchant for fighting just
cause. “My crime is that I preach justice; I preach against injustice.
The issue I had with the Nigeria Army is that, in a sermon, I expressed
my opinion about the salary of soldiers, especially the junior ones,”
explained the 51 year old priest.”
It could be said that Fr. Ani’s problem began to crystalise on September
25, 2010 when he received a letter from John I. Okoye, Bishop of Awgu
Diocese, ordering him to proceed on leave from St. Stephen’s parish,
Umuagu Inyi where he was serving. Captioned: Re – Four months
compulsory leave, the letter reads: “With reference to the recent
happenings in your parish, St. Stephen’s Parish Umuagu Inyi, you are to
proceed on a four-month leave. The said leave will take effect from 25th
of September 2010. While going on this leave, you are to hand over the
affairs of the parish to the Vicar General of Awgu Diocese, Rev. Fr.
Mathew Eze, who will, in the meantime, administer the parish.”
The letter added: “Kindly take your personal belonging from the parish
when embarking on the leave. On the expiration of this leave, you are to
meet me for further directives. Please contact the Vicar General for
your personal upkeep. Thanks and remain blessed as you comply strictly
and obediently to this directive.”
Fr. Ani got the letter at about 11.55am the day he was directed to pack
out of the parish. He told them that he had nowhere to go since he had
no personal house of his own to no avail.
According to Lolo Christiana Orji Nweke, wife of the late traditional
ruler of Mmaku, “when Fr. James Ani was sent packing in the night, he
went to a priest at Obiagu, but the priest refused to take him in
because it was a decision already taken. So, he slept in the car and in
the morning he went to see the Vicar General, Rev. Fr. Matthew Eze at
Ihe.”
Subsequently, on September 27, Rev. Fr. Eze wrote to Rev Fr. Benedict
Chukwuemeka Okoli, the priest at Fr. Ani’s home church, St. Theresa’s
Catholic Parish Mmaku, saying: “Dear Fr, Fr. J. Ani will stay with you
for some days, until I see the Bishop, who will tell him where to stay.
Accept him and feed him.”
In December 2010, Fr. Okoli was transferred from St. Theresa’s parish
and another priest (names withheld by us) was brought to replace him.
But the parishioners rejected the incoming priest because when he served
there sometime ago, he came short of their expectation.
Hear Doris Ani: “Fr. Ani is an old priest but he was not in-charge of
any Church while the younger ones headed parishes. So, we said if they
had decided to punish Fr. James Ani, we would not reject him because he
is our son. According to Igbo tradition, when someone is being pursued,
he will run to his home.”
Dawn raid of church
The impasse took a dangerous dimension in the morning of February 4,
2011 when armed men stormed the church and started shooting
sporadically. According to Lolo Nweke, the armed priests, who were
dressed like policemen descended on the parishioners, beating them
mercilessly and tore their dresses.
Doris Ani was one of those tortured during the dawn raid. “They dealt
with many people, but I was the only woman beaten inside the church. I
was not used to wearing reading glasses, but I started using it because
of the injury I sustained as a result of the beating I got. I was rushed
to the hospital after the attack. They also tore my clothes. The
Nigerian law does not permit anybody to remove another man’s wife’s
clothes but that was what they did,” she narrated and presented pictures
she took showing her bloodied face and torn clothes to the reporter.
But while the men armed were brutalising the parishioners, the villagers
barricaded the road with logs to prevent them from escaping. It was
also learnt that the tyres of the vehicles they brought were deflated by
the villagers.
Lolo Nweke said: “When they were prevented from escaping, they started
shooting sporadically into the air to scare away people. One of the
priests missed his way and was caught by youths. As he was being led
away, he was saying that he should be allowed to say the truth. He said
that they were threatened by people, who said that they would be derobed
if they did not kidnap Fr. James Ani. That same day, they had gone to
Agunese village at about 3.00am and arrested five young men. It was
later that it was discovered that the armed men were priests but they
dressed like policemen. We called the bishop but he said that he was at
Abuja. It was agreed that the priest who was arrested would be taken to
Awgu Police station and that on getting there, the five young men would
be released.
“Days later, the five young men were yet to be released. What they said
at Enugu was that the mad priest, referring to Fr. Ani, set buildings
ablaze in Mmaku. Policemen were sent to Mmaku and they did not see any
burnt or burning house. The case is still in court. The magistrate is
angry, maintaining that it is a church matter and should not have been
brought to court. He advised that we should go and settle among
ourselves.”
Mother of all battles
Things, however, took a different turn on September 18, 2013 at about
10.00am when, according to some parishioners, another attempt was made
to kidnap Fr. Ani. According to Lolo Nweke, the kidnap attempt was
foiled by vigilant youths in the community, who also arrested a
policeman in their midst. “They shot an Okada rider and broke another
person’s leg with their boot,” she said.
The youths also destroyed the two cars with which they embarked on the operation.
When Daily Sun went to Mmaku, the carcasses of the cars painted in Enugu State taxi colours were seen few metres to the Church.
But if the villagers thought that they had won the war, they were
utterly mistaken. Three days later, September 21 to be precise, about 60
policemen stormed the community at about 5.00am in 10 Hilux vehicles.
They divided themselves into groups and set out for their mission.
“Fr. Ani was celebrating mass when they came. They also came to my house
and broke the gate. They broke down three doors in my house, ordered me
to come out of the toilet because they were looking for men. When I
came out, they asked me if there was no man in the house and I told them
that there were only kids. They went round the house searching for men.
One of the groups went to the parish and saw Fr. Ani on the pulpit. So,
they surrounded him and ordered him to strip himself. Father had to
obey and they started beating him. They dragged him along and when they
saw that he couldn’t walk any more, they handcuffed him and carried him
into their vehicle. They also arrested some people in the community.
Since then, the community has been living in fear,” Lolo Nweke
disclosed.
She added that some prominent sons of the community have teamed up with
their oppressors. She opined that their grouse is that “over the years
they would come from Enugu to organise launching, bazaar and everything
for us. At the end, they will tell us that the money is in the bank at
Enugu. We never knew that they were feasting on the church fund. They
were in-charge of ordination and building fund. The church was completed
barely two years after Fr. Ani came here and opened our eyes. These
people have dealt with us severely. What they do now is that any day we
are in Church, they start making calls on phone, raising the alarm that
policemen were coming, so as to scare people away.”
It was learnt that the church building was started in 1963 but completed
about three years ago under the leadership of Fr. Ani. So, some of
those who have been milking the parishioners over the years are angry
with him for stopping their party.
Ezinne Georgiana Chukwuobasi, president, Catholic Women Organisation
(CWO), St. Theresa’s parish added fresh insights. She said: “What the
evil people have done is to compromise our illustrious sons, who,
ordinarily ought to speak for us. Money, belonging to the diocese, is
distributed all over the place. Before God and man, Fr. Ani is innocent.
They are only envious of his achievements because we have been moving
forward since he came. All the money raised here are spent here; it is
no longer taken to Awgu; there is proper accountability. Apart from
completing the church, he helped us to get a transformer and a micro
finance bank so that children can easily send money to their parents at
home. Even the villagers are involved in this war; the Mmaku community
as a whole is fighting this war. It is no longer a church affair because
of developmental projects he is bringing.”
The past in the mix
Ezinne Chukwuobasi averred that there is a tinge of vendetta in the
whole thing. “God knows if I am saying the truth or not. There was a
time Fr. (names withheld by us) was in Mmaku, he would stand on the
pulpit and declare that he would deal with us seriously. He was
remembering what happened in the olden days, that our people chased
their people from Mgbo to Ndagbo. He used to say that he came to
retaliate, that he would use his position as Vicar General to deal with
us. He drove away our children in the seminary school. He is the
architect of the thing happening now.
“Our son, Fr. Innocent Udeafor built the Mmaku Catholic Centre.
Examinations like WASC and JAMB used to hold there. There are several
things there, including hospital, primary and secondary schools, bakery,
piggery and pure water factory. He used to say that the facility was
built by his classmate, adding that if it were possible he would have
taken the centre to his own community. So, he instigated the handing
over of the centre. For the past six years, the centre has been lying
fallow. They have looted the vehicles there.”
Ezinne Chukwuobsi added that they were not being given anything as a
form of compensation. Maintaining that indigenes were not given
employment opportunities at the centre, except as security men and
cleaners, she alleged that money realised from the ventures is usually
taken to Awgu.
The saying that when two elephants fight the grass bears the brunt rings
true for Mmaku Christian Centre. The crises rocking the Mmaku Catholic
community had taken its toll on the expansive centre. Daily Sun saw the
facilities in utter ruins. Rodents, reptiles and unserviceable abandoned
vehicles competed for attention.
Putting the matter in perspective, Mr. Joseph Ani observed that the
problem is in two-fold: First, there is a problem between the
parishioners at St. Theresa’s and the Bishop of Awgu, John I. Okoye.
Two, there are issues between Okoye and Fr. Ani.
“The parishioners rejected a priest posted the parish and they gave
their reasons. What the bishop would have done was to charge the people
to commit the matter into prayer.”
Cynthia Chinazo Orji opined that Fr. Ani’s arrest and detention are but
prophecy fulfilled. “On September 24, Rev. James Ani and three other
accused persons were taken to court and a police inspector, alias
Pastor, repeated what he told the priest about four months earlier. I
was there when he said, ‘Rev Fr. James Ani, how are you? I told you four
months ago that you must go to prison. Fr. Ani turned to me and said, I
think you people are hearing what he is saying?’ That policeman once
came to Fr. Ani and urged to make peace, otherwise he would go to
prison.”
Chinazo further disclosed that three of the men who came with the women
from Mmaku to the court were arrested and arraigned the next day. They
were also remanded in prison custody.
In a telephone chat, the Diocesan Secretary, Rev. Fr. Lawrence Eze said
that the church leadership had no hand in Fr. Ani’s travails, saying:
“The problem is between him and his community and the police.”
Acknowledging: “We have a problem with Fr. Ani because he forcefully
took over a parish and drove away the priest that was posted there,” he
said that when the community brought in the police to intervene, the
priest raised the alarm that they were kidnappers and, as a result, the
policemen were attacked and things were destroyed and stolen.”
TheSun
