- Gunmen, on Tuesday, attacked the Cathedral Church of St Michael’s, Umuikwu Anam, in the Anambra West Local Government Area of Anambra State.
Gunmen, on Tuesday, attacked the Cathedral Church of St Michael’s, Umuikwu Anam, in the Anambra West Local Government Area of Anambra State.
The Anglican Bishop of the Mbamili Diocese, Rt. Rev. Henry Okeke, disclosed this to journalists on Wednesday.
He also alleged threat to his life and those of other clerics in the diocese.
“There were shootings on Tuesday by the hoodlums, who stormed the church to pull down the ongoing cathedral building of the Diocese of Mbamili,” Okeke stated.
The bishop said he had sent a Save-our-Soul message to the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, on the development.
He stated, “Our problem with the miscreants, who are also from Umuikwu Anam, started in 2018 when we wanted to build the fence of the cathedral and commence the construction of the cathedral building; the miscreants pulled it down twice and prevented us from fencing the cathedral.
“The land belongs to the church and it is well gazetted with relevant documents; we do not understand why these miscreants are preventing us from carrying out our projects.”
The cleric, who said some youths in the area had vowed not to allow any Anglican Church in Umuikwu Anam, alleged that they had been disrupting the cathedral’s activities.
Okeke added, “Around 10pm on Tuesday, we started to hear gunshots resulting from their shootings, while they were pulling down the cathedral building.
“They were threatening and shouting on top of their voices that anybody, including the bishop, who came out, would be shot dead.
“They have done so many things to threaten lives here, but God has been keeping us.”
He said he had written to Governor Willie Obiano and the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in Umuahia.
The traditional ruler of the community, Igwe Ben Onyeke, said the portion of land given to the church by the community was not in contention, adding that the activities of the hoodlums were tarnishing the image of the community.
When contacted on the telephone, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Haruna Mohammed, said he was not aware of the development.
He enjoined the bishop to bring the matter to the knowledge of the Commissioner of Police in the state, John Abang.
