How Sister Uyanne Augustina got involved with Anambra Missing 21 Children but says ‘my children are not for sale

www.odogwublog.com brings you exclusive interview with Rev Sister Augustina Uyanne is the founder and proprietress of the Madonna Angels Orphanage Home, Atani, Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State, where 21 children were allegedly reported missing some weeks ago.
In this interview in Onitsha, Rev Sister Uyanne broke her silence over the issue, pointing accusing fingers on the Anambra State Government and the Church for conspiracy against her orphanage home.
Excerpts
Sister may we meet you?
Yes my names are Rev Sister Augustina Uyanne. I am from Atani, Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State. A German trained Rev Sister of the Roman Catholic Church and Founder of the Madonna Orphanage Home Atani.
Is started the building in 2004 and it was completed and commissioned in 2014. The Home is sponsored by Colbermoor, a city in Germany and the city Mayor of Colbermoor Mr. Peter Kloo is the patron.
I lived in Germany for 17years and had never received a dime from the Anambra State Government or the Archdiocese of Onitsha to setup the orphanage.
I have all the necessary documents and approval for the orphanage Home. The certificate includes certificate of registration in the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development Anambra State date 10th Day of August 2010 endorsed by the then Honourable Commissioner Dr Ego Uzoezie. I also have the certificate of Incorporation issued by the Corporate Affairs Commission Abuja. I also have another certificate of Registration issued by Anambra State Government with Certificate No. 077 issued to me on the 1st July, 2013 endorsed by A. Agbata Hon Commissioner and the Permanent Secretary.
Then I have the permission to build and run the Home on the land belonging to St Joseph's Parish Atani in the Archdiocese of Onitsha and it read in parts that “we are informed by circumstances and necessity to have an official record for future references, concerning your noble project at St. Joseph's Parish, Atani Hence, this deed of contract, wherein we state as follows, that the land you are building on now has been and still remains the property of the Catholic Church, and that the Church has no intention whatsoever of selling, mortgaging or parting with it except for the use and conditions herein stated.
And so, considering the nobility of the project and its usefulness, I hereby grant you the permission to build and run this orphanage on this piece of land belonging to the Catholic Church, on the condition that both parties will abide by the terms of this deed of contract.
This permission granted you, extends to the admission of the inmates of this orphanage, employment of staff and hiring of labourers, ensuring the health and cleanliness of the environment for church's functions and other activities taking place within the premises.
Nevertheless, you are hereby informed that if at any time the orphanage folds up or you decide to use the building outside its designated purpose, the land and the structure built on it automatically reverts to the Catholic Archdiocese of Onitsha, the rightful owner of the piece of land.
This means, in effect, that you have no authority to transfer the ownership of this land or the property on it to any individual or a group.
Also, if for some reasons it becomes impossible or extremely difficult for the institution to co-exist with the parish and the activities going on in the parish, the church would pay some substantial compensation for this building and assist you or the organization to relocate to another convenient place.
Consequently, this institution being cited within the church premises must not constitute itself into an autonomous community or independent republic, but will function as an organization within the church, marked by charity and sensitivity to the feelings of the people and obedience to the properly constituted ecclesiastical authority.
The Archdiocese also through the office of the Chancellor Archdiocesan Secretariat issued a permission letter endorsed by Rev Dr John Anosike and it reads in part Sr. Mary Augustina Uyanne is well known to us. She is from our Archdiocese, the Catholic Archdiocese of Onitsha in Nigeria.
We are aware that through the assistance of her friends in Germany, she is building a “Madonna Angels Orphanage Home” at Atani in Ogbaru Local Government Area, of our Archdiocese. Meanwhile it is the only Orphanage Home in the whole of that area.
This project has the blessing and approval of His Grace, Most Rev. Dr. Valerian M. Okeke, the Archbishop of Onitsha and Metropolitan of Onitsha Ecclesiastical Province, His Grace the Archbishop would appreciate any assistance you can offer to Sr. Mary Augustina Uyanne towards the realization of this project.
Also in another letter, with Ref No MWASD/CD/52/16, the Ministry specifically specified the categories of people required in the Home and it was endorsed by Emeka Ajide, Director Child Development. The Memo stated as follows, I am directed to refer you to the above subject matter and to inform you that Madonna Angles Orphanage Home Atani in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra Stale is a registered organization with the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development Awka, Anambra State.
The organization is responsible in the following areas: Child Care, Less Privileged ones, Social Mothers. The Ministry is well pleased with the services they render to these categories of people.
The organization is a charitable one in the State and assists the less privileged ones.
The State Government in a letter dated July 1st ordered for the closure of your Orphanage Home. What was the true position of the matter?
The true position is that on the 20th June some men with Gun, I don't know what they called. They say they are from DSS Awka and that I am under arrest. I was in my office with my Assistant they surrounded me with gun and ordered me to follow them. I nearly collapsed on sighting the gun because this is the first time I am experiencing such. They ordered me to follow upstairs and when we got there they asked about the children. I showed them and when we came down they demanded to see the Social Mothers and before we could get to their apartment, I discovered that they have brought them out. They are eleven of them in number. They now said that I should follow them to DSS Office in Awka with the Social Mothers and five other workers, I only excused myself to get my tablets because I am diabetic and my sugar level ranges from 300 - 400.
When we got to their office in Awka they ordered me to remove my Habit (or cloth). They brought out a file and scanned through it and found our name Madonna Orphanage Home Atani. One of them said your God has saved you. He then directed me to go and join the pregnant social mothers.
After about 40minutes they asked me to call the Commissioner and I called her, but when she picked her call she was highly annoyed because the DSSS did not inform the Commissioner about their mission. My entire plea for her to come fell on deaf ears and she said she was not coming. I want to state here that I am the chairperson of the Orphanage Home Proprietors Anambra State.
Then after a while they now moved us to a small Hall, and brought a bucket and asked us to use it to urinate whenever we are pressed.  At about 11pm or thereabout they brought wrapped cooked Cassava and Egwusi Soup for us to eat. The girls are hungry and because of my ill health I managed to sip the soup.
So the following day, the Commissioner came and bailed us out and I thanked her so much. The Commissioner later invited us and had a meeting with us advised us on the dangers of Child Trafficking and operating baby factory.
What then was your offense or why were you quizzed by DSS?
The allegations were two. They alleged that I don't suppose to keep social mothers in my Orphanage Home and that the Home is a baby factory.
But I think that two people are after me. The first is the man who came to adopt a child from my Home. He lives in America and he is marrying from Ossomalla here in Ogbaru Local Government Area.
He came for adoption and I told him our requirement, because in my home I don't force them on the social mothers to give out their child for adoption, and we don't over levy them. I told him what to pay and how he should settle the mother and treat her with compassion and love.

And at this point there was a woman who was in our home about 8months with a female child. She was also pregnant.
She told us that the man who impregnated her had an accident and died. She said she wants to give out the child after birth for adoption and I asked her to take time and make her decision.
When the man came back I now told him that I have a child the mother want to give out but she has not signed the affidavit of dejection. I pleaded with him to wait until the woman gives her consent. But before then the man had brought (N150,000) For her feeding, Medicare and delivery and when I told him to wait he became angry and demanded the refund of his money which he said we should pay to his account number: 001474437.

And after two days I paid the money into his account, the DSS now came with these allegations.
Let me state Sir that every month we submit the list of children in our homes to Awka. For Instance in June, the number of children in my home was 26 and there was no Colum for the pregnant women.

I made space for it in the form where I indicated the number of the social mothers in my home.

Secondly, before the incident, I was asked to come and take a letter from the commissioner’s office and when I got there the personal Assistant to the commissioner who is also Assistant Director Children’s development in the ministry after some interactions, informed me that they are coming to close down the orphanage home. As the state Chairperson of the orphanage homes in the state I do know very well that the system had been that if Government want to close down orphanage home, under normal Circumstances, they will first of all collect the children but this one was not so.

When I got wind of what they wanted to do, I was annoyed because I know that my hands are clean and I am from Atani is equally my home town. At this stage I called their mothers and relations to come and collect their children, these children have their parents and majority of them are from Atani with addresses. Some of them are orphans who are now with their relation. So there are no mission children in the orphanage home.

When did they shutdown the home?

Two days later, staff of the ministry led by Assistant Director child Development Mrs. Amaka and some police officer came with document and said they want to court the children and I showed them the remaining children and the counted seven of them and they asked about the others, I told them that those who own them have come and collected them. I brought their files with their pictures, and addresses attached and showed them.

Then Amaka now said they will collect the remaining children back to Awka but the police refused saying they were not instructed to collect the children and there was no written document from the ministry to that effect. After so much argument, they decided to make some phone calls to Awka, and later they left but on reaching the main road they stopped and went to the Parish Priest Rev. Fr Michael Uzodigwe’s house at St Joseph Catholic church Atani where they stayed for hours.

On Sunday mass the Parish Priest announced to the congregation that my orphanage home has been shut down and asked members of the legion of Mary, Block Rosary to stop coming to my orphanage to assist us. He also asked those who have been bringing things to the home to stop because the home will never be reopened again.

Suddenly on the 1st of July the Minister of Women Affairs in a letter titled ‘Temporary Closure of Madonna Angel Children’s Home Atani Ogbaru’ with reference number MWASD/CD/077/14 signed by Ezeanuna M. N. (Mrs.), Director Child Development Department for Honurable Commissioner wrote me stating as follows, I am directed to refer you to the above subject matter and to the recent Visit at your children's home by the Department of State Security Services (DSSS) Anambra State on the 26th day of June 2015.
The findings by the Department of State Security Services (DSSS) as part of the activities of your home are a great source of concern to the Ministry.
The registration of Children's Homes does not include harbouring pregnant teenagers and women/young girls without specific approval of each of such by the Ministry.
Remember children's home care for children in need of care, attention and protection and not a place where children are kept waiting to be Trafficked.
Section 190 of the State Child's Rights Law empowers the Honourable Commissioner to discontinue the use of recognized premises as being used as children's home where the operations are not in accordance with laid down rules and regulations.
I am therefore further directed to suspend further activities of your home until the Honourable Commissioner is satisfied that the home could be child friendly.
The children are also ordered by the Honourable Commissioner to be relocated to State Model Community Children's Home Awka.
Please inform ail Parents/Guardians of the children in your custody to verify them and collect their wards/children from the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development through the Child Development Department.
Your certificate of registration is hereby withdrawn till further notice.
This is how I saw the entire allegation and rumour making round that I am operating a baby factory and child trafficking. It is also important for me to state that after 30 years of my ordination as a Rev Sister I came back home fully prepared to assist he less privilege especially the orphans in my community and that is why I attracted the assistance of the Germans who assisted me financially to start off the orphanage home.
My sin against the Parish Priest St Joseph Catholic Church Atani, Rev. Fr Michael Uzodigwe was that each time I travel to Germany to ask for help from my sponsors, he will come after my return and ask for his share, but I refused insisting that the money was not meant for me and the parish or the priest but for these orphans some of whom has nobody to assist.
I also suspected a foul play in the Catholic Archdiocese of Onitsha because I had expected my Diocese to intervene since all these while but he had told the authorities that I have come back to do a family business.
I want to state that I have seen a lot in this orphanage home passing through all sorts of pressures from intentional and unintentional groups and individuals who came with different mission including ritualists, but God forbid my children will not be used for ritual.

When Telegraph called on the office of the Chancellor Onitsha Catholic Archdiocese, he told our reporter to see the Archbishop who was at the time  of this report attending to people in his office.
At the archbishop's office the secretary to the Archbishop Rev. Fr. Ken Anuna told our reporter that the archbishop was not disposed to see him and promised to see the Bishop for proper briefing on the incident saying "please my brother I have to take your number because the Archbishop has just left office and I have no knowledge of the closure of the orphanage home". I have also called the Director of communication and she was not there, so I will get back to you after hearing from the Bishop but meanwhile, let me photocopy the Archbishop approval letter of the home and that of Anambra State Government as well as other certificate you showed me.