Catholic Church Speaks On Imprisonment Of Priest Allegedly By Ebonyi Government

The Catholic Diocese of Abakaliki said Rev. Fr. Timothy Ngwuta who is being detained in Abakaliki Correctional Centre over Effium and Ezza-Effium crisis is a prisoner of conscience, saying, he is innocent of the charges against him.

A statement by the Catholic Church on Monday which was signed by its Chancellor, Rev. Fr. Mathew Opoke, alleged the State government signed an Executive Order that had made it impossible for Fr. Ngwuta to be released.

The statement said the state government through the Executive Order had prevented any court in the State from entertaining matters relating to Effium crisis, which has claimed many lives with properties worth billions of naira destroyed.

Fr. Timothy Ngwuta arrested and imprisoned for alleged promotion of the protracted Effium/Ezza Effium communal war.

Ngwuta was arrested by the Police on 11th December, 2021 and detained for twelve days and was released on bail as a result of ill health arising from his alleged torture by security agents.

He was thereafter rearrested on Tuesday, March 8, 2022 and arraigned on 11th March, 2021 for alleged kidnapping and murder and remanded at the Abakaliki Correctional Centre, up till the time of filing this report.

“The Catholic Church condemns acts of violence, incitement of violence, wars, kidnapping, arson, or any crimes and will not shield anyone involved in such dastardly acts.

“We urge the security forces to do a thorough investigation and ensure that the priest of God, who has, in conscience, stated before his Bishop, that the accusations are entirely false, is not punished for offences he knows nothing about. Efforts to secure his release on Bail have been hampered by the Executive Order preventing any Court in the State from entertaining matters relating to Effium crisis.

Recently the motion for bail was refused on the 12th of April, 2022. We implore all people of good will to join us in praying God to touch those responsible for the incarceration of Fr. Timothy to listen to the voice of right conscience”, the statement by the Catholic church said.

Reacting, the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Chief Cletus Ofoke, said there was no such Executive order by the state government.

“There is nothing like Executive Order on the Effium crisis, there is nothing to that effect. Of course, government can never issue order stopping court from doing its legitimate duty. It is aimed at tarnishing somebody’s image and maligning the government. There is nothing like that.

“Once a matter is in court, nobody talks about it other than for the legal process to take its course. This is what Ebonyi State government has done and the government has no hand in Priest case. The case of the Priest is purely a legal issue from police to court.

So, nothing concerns Ebonyi State government and it is not only the Priest that is being incarcerated over the matter there in Effium. People are aware that so many people have been charged to court; some of them are in prison, some of them are being tried by court. So, the Priest is also a human being”.