aprokomania: Catholic priests in the Aba Diocese of
the church are locked in a renewed
battle that can be described as a holy
war, with a Rev. fr and his Bishop
trading allegations of corruption.
The war, which has been raging for
some years now, has led to the
suspension of some priests from the
diocese and the dragging of the bishop
to the Zone 9 headquarters of the
Nigeria Police in Umuahia, Abia State
where the Local Ordinary (Bishop) had
gone on some occasions to defend
himself against graft allegations
levelled against him by one of the
priests.
The current crisis, according to one of
the priests placed on suspension, Rev.
Fr. Onyebuchi Ig. Nwoko, started few
years back when he preached a homily
in his parish, condemning what he
described as an illicit partisan romance
between the Catholic Church in Aba
“and the failed-corrupt insensitive
government in place in Abia State at
the expense of the poor and
unsuspecting citizens of the state.”
This Fr. Nwoko said coupled with his
stance against absolute worship of
money and colossal murder of
spirituality and spiritual life that drags
the image of the church to the mud and
made people not to have respect for it
any more, made him the target of the
bishop.
This homily, Saturday Sun, gathered
did not go down well with the Catholic
Bishop of Aba, His Lordship, Vincent
Valentine Ezeonyia who felt Rev. Fr.
Nwoko went too far, and allegedly
promised to “deal with the priest in
question.”
This pronouncement, it was also
gathered, was closely followed with a
letter of reprimand entitled “Precept”
which the Bishop was said to have
ordered should be placed against the
priest’s name in the Diocese’s Curia.
Rev. Fr. Nwoko, who is also a lawyer,
took exception to a passage in the
precept which said, “I (Bishop) also
confine you to your self-chosen legal
practice.”
With this, the priest felt he was being
punished for telling the truth of what
was going on in the diocese and the
state at large and the battle line was
drawn.
In his reply, the priest said: “Most of
my legal practice is pro bono as many
of our institutions, and the office of the
education secretary can attest to. My
bishop hates to see a priest that is
empowered and who swims in
excellence.
“He is very cagey in placing such
priests in places where his friends are
residing, so that the word of God may
not smack them. A good number of
priests working in the diocese preach
the gospel of my bishop, and not the
gospel of Christ. However, I will dissect
and respond adequately on the said
‘precept’ to the appropriate quarters.”
The bishop was said to have been livid
with this response that some days later,
Fr. Nwoko said in a memo to his
traditional ruler in Ukwa East about
his lingering crisis with the bishop that
he was transferred to the same location
where kidnappers abducted one of the
priests.
This transfer, the priest said, was done
for a purpose, “to throw his perceived
enemy into the lion’s den, but cannot
sharpen their claws to take my life. I
am conscious of the fact that if there is
benefit or reward at all in our
apostolate, I do not stand to be
rewarded by my bishop.”
The matter got to its crescendo on
February 23, 2011 when Bishop
Ezeonyia reposted some priests,
including Nwoko of St. David, Uratta –
Umuoha in Isiala Ngwa North Local
Government with the new posting not
having any parish.
Feeling stabbed at the back by the new
posting, Fr. Nwoko refused to vacate the
parsonage at Uratta until he was given
a new parish and the real trouble
began.
To ensure that another priest took over,
the bishop was reported to have
threatened to forcefully open the
residence of the parish priest, which
was under lock and key.
In an attempt at forestalling the threat,
Nwoko on September 7, 2012 wrote a
petition entitled, “The unlawful conduct
of Bishop Ezeonyia capable of causing a
breakdown of law and order,” to the
Inspector General of Police (IGP) and
the need for the police boss to call the
bishop to order.
Before the IGP could act on the petition
of the priest, his residence had been
forced open.
The action prompted Nwoko to do
another petition entitled, “Case of
burglary, sealing, threat to life,
property and conduct capable of
breaching public peace”, this time to
the Assistant Inspector General (AIG),
Zone 9, Umuahia.
In the petition, Fr. Nwoko accused the
bishop who he said has been having
nocturnal meetings with Catechist
Anthony Enwe, Mr. Simeon
Nwokoacha, Sir Ajaegbu, Mr Chidinma
Agbara and Mr Raphael Nwaeke, while
he was away to Enugu sometime in
2012 for the purpose of breaking into
his house.
He urged the AIG to investigate the
bishop, arrest and charge him to court
if found culpable.
When it appeared the AIG was delaying
in acceding to his request, he wrote
another letter to the Deputy
Commissioner of Police “D”
Department, Zone 9 headquarters.
In the letter, Fr. Nwoko narrated how
one Joseph Offor of the legal
department, Zone 9 Police Command
thwarted every effort he made to ensure
that the bishop was prosecuted, alleging
that “one of the priests, Fr. Innocent
Ajuonu (even) boasted that they have
settled the matter and that the
prosecutor had assured them that the
bishop will never be prosecuted.”
As this was going on, Bishop Ezeonyia
on May 7, 2013, wielded the big
hammer. He issued Fr. Nwoko with
‘Canonical warning’ entitled “Second
Admonition” in which the priest was
accused, among other things, of
disrespect to the Local Ordinary.
The bishop threatened not only to
impose personal interdict/suspension if
within 10 working days Fr. Nwoko
failed to write him with a promise of
stopping his scanting attacks on him
(Bishop), but also directed that the
Canonical warning “be placed in the
secret archive of the Curia and
maintained there in accord with the
norm of law.”
In an eight-page reply captioned,
“Threat to impose further interdict/
suspension order”, Fr. Nwoko said
unless the bishop restructure the
Diocese based on truth and recall the
priests he suspended particularly Rev.
Fr. Ken Evurulobi, nothing will make
him change his stance on issues in the
diocese.
“You may think that you have the
Ecclesiastical power to do what you
like, but you do not have the power of
the electronic pen. Be assured that in
the absence of those serious and
unfortunate irregularities going on in
this diocese, only when the right
reason, respect for the human person,
justice, equity and fair play are
properly put in place that this matter
may seem not to proceed further,” Fr
Nwoko replied Bishop Ezeonyia.
In response to the allegations leveled
against him by Fr Nwoko, Bishop
Ezeonyia who spoke through Rev Fr.
Alex Okonkwor, Judicial Vicar of the
diocese said the truth about the whole
issue was that Rev Fr. Nwoko has been
disrespectful to the office of the bishop
in so many ways.
He accused Fr. Nwoko of refusing to
honour an appointment with the bishop
so that there will “be understanding
and peace in the diocese, but he refused
and instead chose to rage like the hectic
in the body of this diocese by spinning
out writings, articles and letters that
are crammed with insults against the
bishop.”
Source: Daily Sun Newspaper

www.aprokomania..com

aprokomania: Catholic priests in the Aba Diocese of
the church are locked in a renewed
battle that can be described as a holy
war, with a Rev. fr and his Bishop
trading allegations of corruption.
The war, which has been raging for
some years now, has led to the
suspension of some priests from the
diocese and the dragging of the bishop
to the Zone 9 headquarters of the
Nigeria Police in Umuahia, Abia State
where the Local Ordinary (Bishop) had
gone on some occasions to defend
himself against graft allegations
levelled against him by one of the
priests.
The current crisis, according to one of
the priests placed on suspension, Rev.
Fr. Onyebuchi Ig. Nwoko, started few
years back when he preached a homily
in his parish, condemning what he
described as an illicit partisan romance
between the Catholic Church in Aba
“and the failed-corrupt insensitive
government in place in Abia State at
the expense of the poor and
unsuspecting citizens of the state.”
This Fr. Nwoko said coupled with his
stance against absolute worship of
money and colossal murder of
spirituality and spiritual life that drags
the image of the church to the mud and
made people not to have respect for it
any more, made him the target of the
bishop.
This homily, Saturday Sun, gathered
did not go down well with the Catholic
Bishop of Aba, His Lordship, Vincent
Valentine Ezeonyia who felt Rev. Fr.
Nwoko went too far, and allegedly
promised to “deal with the priest in
question.”
This pronouncement, it was also
gathered, was closely followed with a
letter of reprimand entitled “Precept”
which the Bishop was said to have
ordered should be placed against the
priest’s name in the Diocese’s Curia.
Rev. Fr. Nwoko, who is also a lawyer,
took exception to a passage in the
precept which said, “I (Bishop) also
confine you to your self-chosen legal
practice.”
With this, the priest felt he was being
punished for telling the truth of what
was going on in the diocese and the
state at large and the battle line was
drawn.
In his reply, the priest said: “Most of
my legal practice is pro bono as many
of our institutions, and the office of the
education secretary can attest to. My
bishop hates to see a priest that is
empowered and who swims in
excellence.
“He is very cagey in placing such
priests in places where his friends are
residing, so that the word of God may
not smack them. A good number of
priests working in the diocese preach
the gospel of my bishop, and not the
gospel of Christ. However, I will dissect
and respond adequately on the said
‘precept’ to the appropriate quarters.”
The bishop was said to have been livid
with this response that some days later,
Fr. Nwoko said in a memo to his
traditional ruler in Ukwa East about
his lingering crisis with the bishop that
he was transferred to the same location
where kidnappers abducted one of the
priests.
This transfer, the priest said, was done
for a purpose, “to throw his perceived
enemy into the lion’s den, but cannot
sharpen their claws to take my life. I
am conscious of the fact that if there is
benefit or reward at all in our
apostolate, I do not stand to be
rewarded by my bishop.”
The matter got to its crescendo on
February 23, 2011 when Bishop
Ezeonyia reposted some priests,
including Nwoko of St. David, Uratta –
Umuoha in Isiala Ngwa North Local
Government with the new posting not
having any parish.
Feeling stabbed at the back by the new
posting, Fr. Nwoko refused to vacate the
parsonage at Uratta until he was given
a new parish and the real trouble
began.
To ensure that another priest took over,
the bishop was reported to have
threatened to forcefully open the
residence of the parish priest, which
was under lock and key.
In an attempt at forestalling the threat,
Nwoko on September 7, 2012 wrote a
petition entitled, “The unlawful conduct
of Bishop Ezeonyia capable of causing a
breakdown of law and order,” to the
Inspector General of Police (IGP) and
the need for the police boss to call the
bishop to order.
Before the IGP could act on the petition
of the priest, his residence had been
forced open.
The action prompted Nwoko to do
another petition entitled, “Case of
burglary, sealing, threat to life,
property and conduct capable of
breaching public peace”, this time to
the Assistant Inspector General (AIG),
Zone 9, Umuahia.
In the petition, Fr. Nwoko accused the
bishop who he said has been having
nocturnal meetings with Catechist
Anthony Enwe, Mr. Simeon
Nwokoacha, Sir Ajaegbu, Mr Chidinma
Agbara and Mr Raphael Nwaeke, while
he was away to Enugu sometime in
2012 for the purpose of breaking into
his house.
He urged the AIG to investigate the
bishop, arrest and charge him to court
if found culpable.
When it appeared the AIG was delaying
in acceding to his request, he wrote
another letter to the Deputy
Commissioner of Police “D”
Department, Zone 9 headquarters.
In the letter, Fr. Nwoko narrated how
one Joseph Offor of the legal
department, Zone 9 Police Command
thwarted every effort he made to ensure
that the bishop was prosecuted, alleging
that “one of the priests, Fr. Innocent
Ajuonu (even) boasted that they have
settled the matter and that the
prosecutor had assured them that the
bishop will never be prosecuted.”
As this was going on, Bishop Ezeonyia
on May 7, 2013, wielded the big
hammer. He issued Fr. Nwoko with
‘Canonical warning’ entitled “Second
Admonition” in which the priest was
accused, among other things, of
disrespect to the Local Ordinary.
The bishop threatened not only to
impose personal interdict/suspension if
within 10 working days Fr. Nwoko
failed to write him with a promise of
stopping his scanting attacks on him
(Bishop), but also directed that the
Canonical warning “be placed in the
secret archive of the Curia and
maintained there in accord with the
norm of law.”
In an eight-page reply captioned,
“Threat to impose further interdict/
suspension order”, Fr. Nwoko said
unless the bishop restructure the
Diocese based on truth and recall the
priests he suspended particularly Rev.
Fr. Ken Evurulobi, nothing will make
him change his stance on issues in the
diocese.
“You may think that you have the
Ecclesiastical power to do what you
like, but you do not have the power of
the electronic pen. Be assured that in
the absence of those serious and
unfortunate irregularities going on in
this diocese, only when the right
reason, respect for the human person,
justice, equity and fair play are
properly put in place that this matter
may seem not to proceed further,” Fr
Nwoko replied Bishop Ezeonyia.
In response to the allegations leveled
against him by Fr Nwoko, Bishop
Ezeonyia who spoke through Rev Fr.
Alex Okonkwor, Judicial Vicar of the
diocese said the truth about the whole
issue was that Rev Fr. Nwoko has been
disrespectful to the office of the bishop
in so many ways.
He accused Fr. Nwoko of refusing to
honour an appointment with the bishop
so that there will “be understanding
and peace in the diocese, but he refused
and instead chose to rage like the hectic
in the body of this diocese by spinning
out writings, articles and letters that
are crammed with insults against the
bishop.”
Source: Daily Sun Newspaper

www.aprokomania..com