HOW 12 People Set Catholic Church On Fire In Anambra

The Parish Priest of Our Lady of Fatima
Catholic Church, Nkpor in Idemili North Local
Government Area of Anambra State, near
Onitsha, Rev. Fr. Martin Onukwuba and
another priest-in-residence, Rev. Fr. Ben
Oguejieofor, yesterday, escaped death by
whiskers when some suspected arsonists
invaded the church premises and set the
priests' house ablaze.
The incident, according to sources, occurred
while Fr. Onukwuba was celebrating a morning
mass inside the main church building, while Fr.
Oguejiofor was in the fathers' house.

It was not yet clear, at press time, who the
arsonists were but the police at Ogidi Division
have arrested no fewer than 12 suspects,
including some workers at Our Lady's Bread
Bakery and Industrial Centre within the
compound.

Frs. Onukwuba and Oguejiofor confirmed to
newsmen at the scene that when they noticed
unusual movements within the church
compound, they scaled the fence and jumped
into neighbouring compound in order not to be
burnt alive.

They also confirmed that the attackers who they
suspected to be security operatives guarding the
compound, started their operation in the early
hours, shooting sporadically in the air and into
the two-storey building where the Reverend
Fathers reside.

According to them, when the attack became too
hot for them, they escaped by jumping through
the fence into an adjacent compound.

They further confirmed that although there
were some gun shorts,Tuesday night, around
the area, the main attack came in the early
hours of yesterday.
Specifically, Fr. Onukwuba disclosed that the
Ogidi High Court had earlier issued an order
that the blockages mounted by the security
officers inside the Our Lady's Industrial Centre
to block vehicular movements to the priests'
residence be dismantled, an order which he
said did not go down well with the security
men.

Onukwuba further disclosed that when the
attackers could not get him or the resident
priest, they set the two-storey building ablaze
and also burnt the boy's quarters.

The Parish priest, however, said those arrested
by the police were just members of staff of Our
Lady's Industrial Centre and bakery as the
security guards who attacked them were on the
run.

It would be recalled that the proprietor of Our
Lady's Industrial Centre, Mrs. Onuora, built the
church single handedly and donated it to the
church many years ago. It was commissioned by
Cardinal Francis Arinze, the then Archbishop of
Onitsha.

But recently, one of her daughters who was said
to have left the Catholic church and joined a
pentecostal church has been itching to throw
out the Catholic faithful from the premises, to
hand it over to her new denomination.

The counsel to the church, C. J. Asiegbu also
told newsmen that he was seriously suspecting
the security operatives in the compound who
are in the employ of the land lady who he said
was in court with the church, prior to the
incident.

The Divisional Police Officer at Ogidi, Mr. Yusuf
Abdul who confirmed the incident, said he had
deployed some policemen to the church
premises to effect more arrests.