Ozubulu Church
Massacre: Anambra Government And Police Must Unconditionally Release And Acquit
Incarcerated 94yrs Old Chief Priest & Five Other Criers Of Traditional
Justice Accused Of “Trial By Ordeal”.
(Intersociety Nigeria: 3rd September 2018)-The Government
of Anambra State through its Attorney General and the authorities of the State
Police Command must unconditionally release, discharge and acquit the following
six incarcerated and persecuted citizens: (1) Anazo Ilomuanya (94yrs old Chief
Priest of Ndiekwulu Deity in Ozubulu), (2) Okoli Appolo Udegbunam (68yrs), (3)
Igbokwe Nnanyeleze (65yrs),(4) Ifediorah Aloysius (64yrs, (5) Emeka Anaekwe
(38yrs), who is the leader of the disenchanted Ozubulu youths and (6) Richard
Obimaluokwu (not among the first arrestees but was later arrested and charged
for “trial by ordeal”, among other phantom charges and remanded in Nnewi Prison
custody till date).
Intersociety is specifically calling on the Attorney
General of Anambra State & Commissioner for Justice to as a matter of
urgent public importance and inexcusability, file a motion for withdrawal and
discontinuation (nolle prosequi) of the said phantom charges of “trial by
ordeal”, among others; deemed vindictive and diversionary. In other words, the
State AG should urgently exercise the said powers vested in him by Section 211
(c) of the 1999 Constitution (to take over and discontinue criminal trial at
any stage during its trial in his State). The six incarcerated innocent
citizens especially the 94yrs old Chief Priest of Ndiekwulu Deity, Ozubulu,
must be released unconditionally and discharged and acquitted.
It is the position of Intersociety that the six
incarcerated citizens who are all indigenes of Ozubulu Community in Ekwusigo
Local Government Area of Anambra State are being incarcerated and persecuted on
the grounds of their faith particularly for exercising their rights to freedom
of religion and worship having belonged to or became sympathizers of
traditional religion; guaranteed as a fundamental human right by Section 38 of
the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 as well as the UN Covenant on Civil &
Political Rights of 1976 and the African Charter on Human & People’s Rights
of 1981; all of which Nigeria is a party to.
Background: The six incarcerated citizens were on 20th
July 2018 arrested by the combined operatives of the Ozubulu Police Divisional
Command and the State Criminal Investigation Department, all of the Anambra
State Police Command. The arrested citizens were detained at the State CID,
Awka for four days and accused spuriously of sundry misdemeanor charges ranging
from “trial by ordeal” to “malicious publication” and “defamation of
character”; leading to their arraignment at the Ekwusigo Magistrate Court in
Ozubulu.
They were arraigned with Charge No.: MOZ/128 C/2018:
Commissioner of Police, Anambra State v Emeka Anaekwe & 4ors; from where
they were remanded in Nnewi Prison custody till date owing to hash bail
conditions imposed or attached to their court bail. Offences of misdemeanor
wrongfully slammed on the six incarcerated citizens legally attract lenient
bail conditions and punishable only with one year imprisonment on conviction,
on each of the count charges.
Contrarily, the six incarcerated citizens were granted
bail with stringent conditions suspected to have been manipulated by a cabal
with a hand in series of organized crimes (i.e. drug war killings) that gripped
the Ozubulu Community in recent years including the 6th August 2017 Catholic
Church massacre in which 13 worshippers were massacred and 22 others inflicted
with various degrees of gunshot injury. Efforts to get the bail conditions
varied using the same Magistrate Court were frustrated by the same cabal said
to have strong sympathy of the State Police Command as well as reported backing
from some top officials of the Government of Anambra State and the Nnewi
Diocese of the Catholic Church in Nigeria.
The bail variation efforts paid off at a State High
Court via the Presiding Vacation Judge, Hon Justice S.N. Odili who heard a
motion on notice for variation of the hash bail conditions on 20th August 2018
and got same varied in his ruling delivered on 23rd August 2018. While the new
bail processes and conditions were being perfected, the same cabal hurriedly
filed a notice of appeal before the Enugu Division of the Court of Appeal for
stay of execution of the High Court judgment granting lenient bail conditions
to the incarcerated six innocent citizens.
Intersociety was also told that the shoddy services of
the officer in charge of the appeal unit at the State High Court were procured
for purpose of preparing and transmitting fraudulent records of proceedings to
the Court of Appeal; all for the sole aim of keeping the six innocent citizens
perpetually incarcerated in the prison custody. The worst of it all was how the
Enugu Division of the Court of Appeal was reportedly misled and furnished with
falsified records of proceedings and surprisingly stampeded into fixing 25th
April 2019 as “a hearing date for the motion on notice” for stay of execution
with respect to the State High Court ruling varying the hash bail conditions.
What all this means is that if the ungodly status quo is allowed un-reversed, a
94yrs old man and three others in their mid 60s will be kept in prison custody
till April 2019.
Facts of the Matter: On 6th August 2017, no fewer than
13 Catholic Church congregants or worshippers were massacred during their early
morning church service in which 22 others received various degrees of injury.
The mass murder took place inside St Philips Catholic Church, Umuezekwe Ofufe,
Amakwa, Ozubulu in Ekwusigo LGA of Anambra State. The church building was
singly built and donated by one Aloysius Ikegwuonu to the Catholic Diocese of
Nnewi headed by its Bishop, Most Rev Paul Hilary Odili Okeke. The named single
church builder, said to be the prime target of the mass murder also lost his
father (Cyprian Ikegwuonu) and another of his relative, Mrs. Caroline Ikegwuonu
who was shot and injured. The said single church builder is widely believed to
be a controversial businessman based in South Africa, where he reportedly
maintains vast business interests till date.
Following dissatisfaction by many youths and other
indigenes of Ozubulu over what they saw as diversionary, partisan and poor
handling by Police, the State Government and the Catholic Church of the mass
murder case which had in recent years taken lives of dozens of young male
indigenes of the Community, a decision was taken to consult the Community’s
ancient god of justice called “Ndiekwulu Deity” to strike on mother earth her
sacred and ancient staff or scepter of justice to spiritually visit her wrath
on those behind the spate of killings in the Community; since Government,
Police and the Church appeared to be shielding them and partaking in sharing
their blood money for purpose of perverting justice and harboring sacrilege.
The concerned youths and indigenes of the Community
further felt disappointed at the turn of events whereby the real kingpins and
other culprits in the mass murder are being protected or shielded by the powers
that be in the State and the Catholic Diocese of Nnewi while nominal parties to
the mass murder and possibly innocent others are being paraded or prosecuted as
the real masterminds; with others recruited to possibly bear false witness for
a bloody fee. The moves by the youths and the traditionalists to resort to
traditional justice did not go down well with the said cabal who reigned in and
visited State security and political apparatuses on the youths and the named
traditionalists; accusing them of “trial by ordeal”, among other phantom
charges.
For purpose of records and clarity, the offence of
“trial by ordeal” as contained in Section 209 of Nigeria’s Criminal Code Act of
2004, concisely means administering of witnesses to a pending trial, or on a
complaint brought before a deity against such person, or parties to oath before
a deity to perform the dictates of the deity. In this case, the person
complaining trial by ordeal must be present in the deity and will be sworn to
that oath against his or her will/wish.
Punishment in the offence of “trial by ordeal”
according to the same Section 209 of CCA of 2004 is classified as misdemeanor
punishable by one year imprisonment. The offence is generally categorized under
Chapters 19 and 20 of the Criminal Code Act of 2004 under “Offences Relating to
Religious Practice (i.e. Ordeal, Witchcraft, Juju and Criminal Charms)”.
Conversely, the facts of the matter highlighted above
are in no way connected with offence of “trial by ordeal” as no right or false
witness in the ongoing criminal proceedings over the mass murder was summoned
or taken to the deity against his or her will/wish neither was any suspected
culprit or party to the mass murder summoned to appear before the same
benevolent deity. It was purely an innocuous case of community members in search
for god justice through their ancestors and benevolent forces holding
representative sway in the cosmic world.
Intersociety
hereby makes bold to say that the conduct of the youths and the traditionalists
is not only lawful and constitutional but also a combination of exercise of
right to freedom of worship and legitimate recourse to traditional method of
conflict resolution. The incarcerated six citizens and other concerned youths
and indigenes of Ozubulu Community deserve commendation and not persecution in
the hands of the Government of Anambra State and the Police created to uphold
the laws of the land, promote values, protect the citizens’ fundamental human
rights and shun all forms of social vices including ill-gotten and blood wealth
and their wielders/bearers
The panicky moves by the cabal and supportive
government persecution and protection is a confirmation of not only guilty as
accused but also attempts to fight the god of traditional justice and pervert
justice in the worldly and cosmic or spiritual realm; defying their calamitous
consequences. Should anything untoward happens to these aging citizens,
particularly Anazo Ilomuanya; 94yrs old Chief Priest of Ndiekwulu Deity
(Ozubulu), Okoli Appolo Udegbunam, 68yrs old, Igbokwe Nnanyeleze, 65yrs old and
Ifediorah Aloysius 64yrs old or two others, then the Government of Anambra
State and the State Commissioner of Police and his OC/Legal (B.A. Onwuemekaghi)
shall be held responsible!
Signed
For: Int’l Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule
of Law
Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chairman
Mobile Line: +2348174090052
Email: [email protected]
Obianuju Joy Igboeli, Esq.
Head, Civil Liberties & Rule of Law Program
Email: [email protected]
Chinwe Umeche, Esq.
Head, Democracy & Good Governance Program
Email: [email protected]
Ozubulu Catholic Church killings: Anambra Police in trouble over arrest of 94 years old man
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Thursday, September 06, 2018
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