Separatists Storm Parish in Nigeria’s Onitsha Archdiocese, Holy Mass “temporarily” Halted

In a January 18 report by Vanguard News, a Parishioner who witnessed the incident says the incident caused confusion around the area.

“We were in the midst of Mass when a gaggle of youngsters suspected of being IPOB members entered the church. They carried sticks and cans and went on to the altar,” the Parishioner whose identity was not provided is quoted as saying.

The worshipper adds in reference to the invaders, “They approached our parish priest, Rev Fr Joseph and asked him why he was celebrating Mass on a day their master was going to court. There were quite a number of them and were visibly angry.”

“Everybody in the church took to their heels. There would have been a stampede because there were a lot of people in the morning Mass today. I ran to a building close to the church,” the worshiper recounts in the January 18 report.

The worshiper says the Parish Priest told the invaders that they were having Holy “Mass today to pray for the release of Nnamdi Kanu. He used diplomacy to talk to them, and even asked them if they were really for Ndi Igbo or Against Ndi Igbo? They now said okay, and if that was so, the people in the church were for them.”

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“They called back everyone to continue the Mass since they were convinced that the church people were Biafrans,” the worshiper is quoted as saying, adding, “Some of us were so afraid that we could not return, so we went home from there. They apologized to the Priest and left.”

Last year, religious leaders in Nigeria called for the release of Mr. Kanu, a pro-Biafra political activist with dual citizenship, Nigerian and British.

Mr. Kanu who founded and leads IPOB was reportedly arrested abroad and repatriated to Nigeria in June last year.

The 54-year-old activist “pleaded not guilty to charges leveled against him by the authorities, including terrorism and treason,” BBC reported October 21.

“We urge President Buhari and the Federal Government to take immediate steps to de-proscribe the IPOB and also release IPOB members being held in various detention facilities in Nigeria,” the religious leaders said in their October 31 statement.

The faith-based leaders who include Archbishop Anthony Obinna of Owerri Archdiocese and Archbishop Valerian Okeke of Onitsha Archdiocese as representatives of the Catholic Church in Nigeria urged the Buhari-led government to “demilitarize the Southeast Zone.”

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.