Human Rights Activist, Comrade Osita Obi has expressed his unhappiness with the Awka Catholic Diocese over the evicted his wife, Beatrice , from her shop in Awka, Anambra state.
The incident happened about three weeks ago. The rights activist said the evil act was perpetrated by the Catholic Diocese using a court judgment.
Obi at a press conference in Awka on Tuesday explained that about three weeks ago, the Chancellor of the Diocese, Rev Father Charles Ndubuisi came with a bailiff to his wife’s shop on No27, Secretariat Road in Awka, the Anambra State capital and scattered her wares,threw them into the rain and destroyed the shop.
He said that nothing was salvaged from the shop and valued the goods and property destroyed at over N5 Million, describing the manner of eviction as an evil act that must be condemned.
Obi recalled that the prelude to this seeming debacle started way back on June 15,2022, when officers from the Area Command of the Police, Awka, Anambra state arrested his wife over a petition of alleged criminal trespass, aiding kidnapping and conduct likely to cause breach of the peace.
The police he said refused to divulge the writer of the spurious petition but went on to interrogate and detain his wife for several hours before her bail was secured.
He added that they never realized that the petition was from the Awka Catholic Diocese until they went to the court to inquire of the judgement empowering the bailiff to come through away his wife’s goods from her shop that they found out.
Obi who took exception to the conduct of the diocese said that her wife,a Chartered Accountant had retired as a Deputy Director in the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Abuja, prompting their relocation to Awka a few years back.
He said that upon their relocation and looking for a shop, they met one Chidi Osakwe who was the land Lord of the property, paid the rent and moved in.
“So if Chidi Osakwe was contesting ownership of the property with the Catholic Diocese of Awka doesn’t concern us. If the Diocese took him to court and won. they should have come to tell us the status of the property and ask us to go out. My concern is the forceful ejection and the destruction of my goods”, he said.
But the comrade said none of this happened and his wife and the other four traders with shops in the same building were never served any court processes before they obtained judgment and came with a bailiff, stressing that he is never against the Catholic Church in Nigeria but the Catholic Diocese of Awka that destroyed his wife’s shop and peddling false information that they were not culpable, because the court gave the order enforced by the bailiff.
Plaintiffs/Claimants sued “Unknown Persons” as Defendants in Suit NO:MAW/ 971/2024, in the Chief Magistrate Court of Anambra of Nigeria, in the Chief Magistrate Court of Awka Magisterial district Holden at Awka claiming entitlement to the ” possession of the apartments/rooms/shops with its appurtenance thereto situated at No 27 Seaman Avenue/Secretariat Road, Property of Catholic Diocese of Awka in Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra state which was let to the defendants as a tenant and which tenancy was determined by Notice to Quit served on the defendants which is dated 29 th day of August,2024.
“The plaintiff did serve the defendants a 7 day notice in writing of his intention to apply to recover possession of the said apartments/ rooms/ shops, that notwithstanding the said notice, the defendants refused and or neglected to deliver up possession of the said apartments/rooms/shops, still detains same.
“The Plaintiffs further claimed and prayed for immediate possession of the said apartments, rooms and shops with its appurtenance.
In a judgement to this effect delivered by His Worship,E.C Chukwuma,Esq, Senior Magistrate,Grade11 on July 10, 2025, the court noted that the claim of the plaintiff against the defendants was for immediate possession of the apartments, rooms, and shops with its appurtenances thereto situated at NO:27 Seaman/Secretariat Road, property of Catholic Diocese of Awka in the Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra state.
The court also noted that pw2, Rev. Fr. Nicodemus Izuchukwu,stated that he was the priest given that authority to manage the property at the said address because the former priest managing the property died and as a result some unknown persons came and occupied the said property.
“That every attempt made to evict them proved abortive. That the plaintiff wants to make personal use of the said property. That the defendant was served with the appropriate notices but he failed to appear in court to answer to the claims against against him. He therefore prayed the court to grant judgement to the plaintiff as per his claim.
“Therefore immediate possession of apartments/rooms/shops with its appurtenance thereto situate at No. 27 Seaman/ Secretariat Road, property of Catholic Diocese of Awka within Awka Magisterial district is hereby granted the plaintiff. This is my judgement ” Magistrate Chukwu, Esq said.
But Comrade Obi insisted that the judgement was kangaroo and emanated from deceit.
“They went to the Magistrate Court via the backdoor, deceived the court, and got a kangaroo judgement, then came back and removed our property in the rain. They never told us we were in court. No notice of the matter was served to us. Ask the other four people who own shops there.
“No notice of the matter was served to us, even the judgement. They never served us anything, the court proceedings, nothing. They said they served us 7 days notice and no appearance let them bring the evidence. If you took unknown persons to court, the unknown person has a shop, you paste on the door if the shop and when he comes he will see it. But this one, nothing.
“I am demanding for a written apology and adequate compensation. The goods we lost in my wife’s shop are valued at over N5 Million. My wife is hospitalized at Enugu from shock. The Catholic Diocese ought to pay me the sum of N25Million considering the damage done to my family.
“If these are not done within two weeks, I will seek redress in court.vRev .Fr. Charles Ndubuisi, the diocesan Chancellor who supervised the destruction of the shops said it was not the Catholic Church that did it but the bailiff. I wonder.
“Unknown to them, I will pursue this matter to its logical conclusion even if it means going to the Vatican in Rome.
“If they offer me a shop. even if it is the only shop I’m Awka,I will not accept it because they are campus and deadly. Imagine people who petitioned the police that my wife is a kidnapper. Imagine what will happen if they offer me a shop.
“The Catholic Diocese injured me, they should come to me and not the other way round. I am ready to take the matter to the Vatican. I am not against the Catholic Church in Nigeria, but against the Awka Catholic Diocese.
“I have approached the Police Area Command in Awka and the state Police Public Relations Officer to furnish me with their final report on the allegations of kidnapping levelled against my wife after their investigations and the petition written to trigger their actio.
“For now, I am exonerating the police until they fall to give me the report of their investigation”, he said.
