By Izunna Okafor, Awka
An Anambra-based human rights activist, Comrade Osita Obi, has launched a blistering criticism on the Catholic Diocese of Awka, accusing it of masterminding and lying about the unlawful invasion and destruction of his wife’s shop, alongside several others, on July 31, 2025.
Comrade Obi spoke on Tuesday in Awka, the Anambra State capital, while reacting to what he described as an illegal and inhumane invasion of the shops, as well as the recent claims by the Diocesan Chancellor, Rev. Fr. Charles Ndubisi, who, in a press conference, absolved the Diocese, denied its direct involvement in the eviction and insisted that the action was strictly executed by the court and bailiffs.
Recall that pandemonium erupted in Awka late last month when security operatives and court officials stormed a property located along Secretariat Road, broke into shops, and threw tenants’ goods into the rain, in execution of a judgment said to have recognized the Catholic Diocese of Awka as the rightful owner of the disputed building.
Reports have it that the property, originally built by a late Catholic priest and later occupied by his nephew, had for years been managed as private rental property until the Diocese allegedly filed a suit challenging claiming its ownership. Following a ruling in favour of the Diocese, the court ordered possession of the building, which culminated in the sudden eviction that left shop owners devastated and counting losses worth millions.
It was also gathered that the tenants and occupants of the building and the shops were never officially informed of the ongoing litigation or served notices to vacate, before their shops were forcefully broken into, a development that sparked outrage, condemnation, social media criticism, and public calls for accountability.
Recall also that the Awka Catholic Diocesan Chancellor, Rev. Fr. Ndubisi, while reacting to the media reports, told journalists at the Diocesan Headquarters that the eviction was lawful, that the tenants and one Mr. Chidi Osakwe, whom the tenants had known as landlord for years, were earlier served legal notices and reminders long before that fateful day, which were all ignored, before the execution of the court judgement.
The Chancellor, while emphatically dismissing claims of highhandedness and stressing that the Church only acted in line with the court’s ruling, further re-emphasized that both Osakwe and “Unknown Tenants” were duly served legal notices, including a seven-day quit order, and that the court’s judgment was lawfully executed by the state bailiff. He also dismissed claims that the church directly evicted the shop owners and further revealed that since after that incident, some of the tenants have returned to them and regularized their tenancy with the Diocese.
However, addressing newsmen in Awka on Tuesday, Comrade Obi dismissed the Chancellor’s claims as outright falsehood and insisted that neither he, his wife, nor any tenant there was ever served any notice prior to the demolition of their shop.
Displaying placards with inscriptions “I Better Deal with Lucifer Than Deal with the Catholic Diocese of Awka” and “Catholic Diocese of Awka is not better than Boko Haram and Bandits”, as a sign of protest, he further alleged that the Diocese manipulated the court process by bribing bailiffs, who never delivered any writs or pasted notices as required by law.
“The Awka Catholic Diocese knew exactly what they were doing. They went through the back door, deceived the judiciary, bribed the bailiff, and broke into shops without ever serving us any notice. If anything had been pasted on my wife’s shop, we would have seen it and gone to court. Nothing was ever served,” he insisted.
The activist, who said his wife rented the shop innocently after retiring from the Federal Inland Revenue Service as a Deputy Director and chartered accountant, recounted how their shops were unexpectedly invaded, and how their goods were thrown outside under heavy rainfall, leading to losses he valued at over ₦5 million. He lamented that his wife was not only traumatized by the incident but is currently hospitalized in Enugu, totalling the cost of the destroyed goods and the ongoing medical treatment of his wife to over ₦25 million.
While revealing that this was not the first time the Diocese targeted has his family, Obi recalled that the Diocese, sometime in 2022, also petitioned the police, falsely accusing his wife of aiding kidnappers, an allegation he described as malicious and humiliating, and unfounded. He said it took a court application to access the petition and prove the Diocese’s involvement after police initially withheld the documents.
He argued that by unjustly evicting traders and breaking into shops, the Diocese was indirectly pushing vulnerable youths into crime and prostitution, rather than protecting them as a church should.
“The Church is supposed to represent God, but Awka Catholic Diocese has chosen to represent mammon. By their action, they are not only destroying businesses but also throwing up kidnappers, prostitutes, and armed robbers. Their action is evil. I say it without fear: the Diocese of Awka is not better than Boko Haram and Bandits,” he fumed.
Obi, who maintained he is not against the Catholic Church as an institution but strictly against the Catholic Diocese of Awka, described its actions as worse than Lucifer’s sin of disobedience. He declared that he would rather deal with Lucifer than with the Diocese, stressing that their actions have betrayed the essence of the faith they preach.
He revealed that after reading Rev. Ndubisi’s interview in Punch, he personally called the Chancellor to clarify issues, only to be told that “it wasn’t the Church, but the police” that carried out the eviction. According to him, Ndubisi later avoided further conversations and failed to show genuine concern, even though he personally supervised the destruction while in plain clothes.
Given the entire damages, Obi also threatened to take up a legal action against the Diocese. He demanded both a written apology and compensation of ₦25 million, warning that if the Diocese fails to comply within two weeks, he would direct his lawyer to file legal action and seek redress, even up to the Vatican. He added that although the Church may wield influence and money, he would not be intimidated into silence.
Asserting his willingness to forgive if the Diocese admits wrongdoing, Obi said: “The Church in foreign countries apologizes when they err. Awka Diocese must apologize and compensate us. That is the only way this can end.”
Fielding further questions, he explained that his dispute with the Diocese has nothing to do with any case the Diocese may have about the ownership of the said property, or with Mr. Osakwe, the landlord from whom they originally rented the shop. He said his case is solely against the Diocese’s unlawful method of enforcement. He also stressed that he would never return to the property even if offered the shop for free, since the same people had once branded his wife a kidnapper.
“My concern is not who owns the property. My concern is that tenants who paid rent were never informed, never served, and were thrown into the rain like criminals. That is injustice,” he stressed.
Corroborating Obi’s account, another victim of the eviction, Mr. Chijioke Okafor, a spare parts dealer, also insisted that no notice was served on tenants before the sudden invasion. He lamented that the high-handed eviction shattered his livelihood and those of other tenants, many of whom had recently stocked their shops or invested in renovations.
