The Anglican Province of Owerri, Imo State, has reacted to the manner in which the police enforced the arrest of Uche Nwosu at St Peter’s Anglican Church, Eziama Obieri in the Nkwerre Local Government Area of the state on Sunday during a thanksgiving service.
The church says the invasion of a church of worship by security operatives while service was ongoing was unacceptable.
The Archbishop of the province, Most Rev Dr David Onuoha, who disclosed this in a statement on Monday, added that while it supports the arrest of individuals who committed crimes no matter how highly placed they are, it will still engage the police to find out why it desecrated the church during service.
WITHIN NIGERIA recalls that Nwosu, who is the son-in-law of former Governor Rochas Okorocha, was arrested by policemen at the church for reasons unknown but later released.
Onuoha said that the shooting of bullets and dispersing of worshippers had never been witnessed in the over 160 years of the existence of the church in the state.
The statement read in part, “As much as we are not concerned or interested in the reason for this invasion, which is unprecedented in the more than 160 years history of the church in this state, we are gravely worried and disturbed that worshippers were greatly frightened, worried, confused and completely disorganised by the presence of heavily armed security operatives in the church service thereby disrupting the worship of God’s people.
“That the police jumped inside the church in a gestapo style when the service was in full session is reprehensible, primitive, and highly condemnable. We are at a great loss why the police decided to throw caution to the winds and completely ignore internationally acclaimed rules of engagement and civility in this matter.”
The church said the sporadic gunshots outside the building sent worshippers scampering in different directions, signaling an abrupt and chaotic end of the service.
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