Anglican Faithful Accuse Obiano of Unfairness in Land Tussle against Catholics …Accuse govs aide of hiring thugs to beat up worshipers

 

Anglican faithful in Onitsha, Anambra State, on Thursday accused the state Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, of not being fair to the church in the protracted land tussle it has with its Catholic counterparts.

This is coming on the heels of an attack by armed thugs alleged to have been hired by an aide of the governor who serves as the transition committee Chairman of Onitsha North, Mr. Patrick Aghamba.

The Anglicans expressed disappointment over the indifferent disposition of the state government towards the series of attacks on the church following the lingering controversy on the Bishop Crowder Memorial School premises.

The Anglican parishioners vowed never to give up on their quest to retain the land amid what they described as intimidation, persecutions and harassment both from government officials and the Catholic Church which were also laying claim to the property.

The Legal Secretary of the Diocese on the Niger, Mr. Tabugbo Anaeto, who briefed journalists on Thursday, accused the state government of carrying out the script of the Catholic Church in the diocese in its bid to take over the property.

Anaeto said several letters written to the state governor on the matter have not been replied, adding that the governor has also refused to make public the report of the fact-finding committee on the true ownership of the school set up by his immediate predecessor, Mr. Peter Obi.

"Obiano is not, and has not been fair to the Anglicans. All correspondences sent to him are yet to be replied up till today. He is using the government power to aid our sister denomination with the aim of depriving us of our right," he alleged.

Anaeto said the essence of the conference was to bring the attention of the world to the travail of the Anglicans in the hands of the Obiano-led government who was hell bent on subjugating Anglicans in the state.

The legal practitioner further accused the Chief of Staff to governor, Primus Odili, of being at the forefront of the whole brouhaha.

According to him, "We will not succumb to the threats, intimidation and manipulations of the Anambra State Government and the Roman Catholic Church to dispossess us of our property."

Earlier, the Vicar of the church, Rev (Dr.) Leo Onuzuligbo, narrated how hoodlums numbering over 100 stormed the church with branded All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) vans and attacked the parishioners last Sunday.

He said they broke their seats, beat up their members and injured some with clubs and broken bottles.

Onuzuligbo, who fingered the Onitsha North Transition Committee Chairman, Mr. Patrick Aghamba, in the attack, wondered how he would turn around to hire thugs to kill parishioners after his appeal for the accommodation of flood victims in the same premises was granted.