The crisis rocking the St Jude’s Catholic Parish, Amechi-Uwani Community in Enugu South local Government area of Enugu state has taken a different turn as twelve parishioners have been arrested and remanded in prison custody over alleged attempt to kidnap and murder the parish priest, Rev. Fr. John Osinachi Amadi.
According to the Charge No. MES/33c/2013 brought by the police before the Magistrate’ court of Enugu South Magisterial District and presided over by Mrs. Ifeoma Amadi, the accused persons include, Messrs Ozo Chris Nwobodo, Hon. Ikechukwu Egbo, Mrs Ngozi Nwobodo, Gabriel Agbo, John Nnaji and Egbo Lawrence.
They were said to have committed the offence on Sunday the 10th of February 2013 at the parish in Amechi Uwani, Awkunanaw, Enugu.
They were arraigned alongside six others on a six-count charge of attempted murder, kidnap, malicious damages etc.
When the matter came up, the trial magistrate, Mrs. Ifeoma Amadi, remanded the accused persons in prison custody pending when they will be arraigned in a high court, which has the jurisdiction to try them.
A community source alleged that the arrest and prosecution of the parishioners is a climax of the battle between the parish priest and the church members over the ownership and Management of the Holy Angels Comprehensive Secondary School, Amechi Uwani.
The school, DailyPost had gathered, was built by the Catholic women of the community for the purpose of helping to educate their children as well as to source fund for their parish building.
The source added that several efforts made by some prominent indigenes of the state including, former Senate President, Ken Nnamani to resolve the dispute at earlier stage proved abortive. According to the source, Fr. Amadi had allegedly asked the board of the school to release about N400, 000 from the school account for the purpose of embarking on pilgrimage, but his demand hit a brick wall, as the people in-charge refused to yield to his demand after several appeals.
“That was where the problem deepened and the parish priest went and reported the matter to the Bishop who against all odds went to the bank and asked them to release the money to the priest even when they (Fr. Amadi and Bishop Onaga) are not signatories to the account,” the source said.
He said the parishioners became angry when the transfer of the priest was reversed, adding that it led to the current problem.
“That particular day, we were expecting the new priest to celebrate the holy mass for us, but to our greatest amazement, Fr. Amadi appeared. We were shocked to see him again, and it led to shouting match in the church; that was all that happened; I am shocked to hear about attempted murder and kidnap”, the source further alleged. Meanwhile, one of the counsels to the accused persons, Okwudili Agbo, has expressed dismay at the level of injustices allegedly being meted on the parishioners.
“I think there’s a lot of injustice going on in the system in respect to the administration of justice in Nigeria, a situation where twelve people; including a man and his son, a husband and the wife, could be bundled into prison and remanded on the basis of a holding charge, flimsy charge, phantom charge; not just a holding charge but a trump-up charge that do not relate with the facts of the issue leaves much to be desired,” Agbo said.
Continuing, Agbo said, “this case is particularly pathetic because the couple in this case has a baby that is barely weaned and they have been there for close to three weeks and nobody cares about the welfare of their children. Some of the detainees were merely at the police headquarters to visit their loved ones and were roped into the matter. It was a case where anybody who came to the police to see them was detained. More embarrassing and disheartening was that a widow who is still observing her widowhood rites and whose son was among the detainees, was detained because she came to visit her only son in police custody, but was later not charged with others”.
Comments