Anglican Church protests alleged invasion of its educational institution by host community
The Anglican Diocese of Nsukka has condemned the invasion of its educational institution by suspected youths of its host community in Umakashi in Nsukka local government area of Enugu state.
The Bishop of the Diocese, Rt. Rev. Aloysius Agbo, made this known while briefing journalists on Wednesday during the protest by clergymen of the diocese, staff and students of both St. Cyprian Girls Secondary School and St. Cyprian Special Science School.
He said youths from Umakashi, numbering about 500 last Saturday armed with dangerous weapons, led by their leader, Mr. Samuel Asadu invaded the school compound and pulled down the perimeter fence of St. Cyprian compound and threatened to kidnap students from the hostel.
“On that fateful day youths from Umakashi the host community numbering about 500 invaded the school compound with dangerous weapons surrounded the school.
“Some went to the girls hostels threatening to kidnap them as a bargaining power for us to vacate the land.
“After pulling down the school fence they entered the school compound and started mapping out land into plots and sharing it among themselves,” he said.
The bishop said the church and the community earlier agreed through its peace committee to resolve the misunderstanding but according him agreed to meet the youths struck on March 11 a day before the agreed date to unleash violence by pulling fence of the institution.
“We have gone to court on this trespass by the community but later agreed for dialogue and the matter was struck out on November 2016,
“This land was given to the church in 1956 by their forefathers and I wonder why some youths will wake up one day and trespass into land.
“My happiness is that the church has necessary documents of the land and urged elders of Umakashi to call their youths to order and remind them that they are fighting God and not church,” he said.
Agbo said the church had notified the state governor, commissioner for Education as well as reported the matter to police as the security of lives of students cannot be guaranteed.
“I have informed Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, commissioner of education in the state and the police on the March 11 invasion of the school compound by Umakashi youths.
“The church is happy with the actions already taken by the governor to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to book,”the bishop said.
The principal of St Cyprian Special Science School, Mrs. Dorcas Ejimchukwu said the pulling down of the school had exposed the students who are girls to danger and called on commissioner of Education to come to their aid.
“My fear this is girls school and 95 per cent of students are living in hostels, pulling this fence is security threat to these students as nobody knows what will happen next.
In a separate interview the senior perfect of St Cyprian Special Science School, Miss Shalom Aneke and her counterpart at St Cyprian Girls Secondary school, Miss Sandra Ugwu said the broken fence is creating fears among students as many of them no longer come for prep for fear of been raped.
“The breaking of our school fence has caused fear and anxiety on students,” Aneke said.
“Some students no longer come for evening prep as they are afraid they may be harmed or raped,” Ugwu said.
Daily Times reports that all the 100 priests from the diocese participated in the protest while about two thousand students from both schools carried placards with inscription, ‘Umkashi youths, stop destroying our school fence,’ ‘Enugu state Government, come to our aid,’ ‘Let there be peace,’ ‘See us as your children and sisters,’ ‘Please leave our school land for us,’ ‘Commissioner of Education save us from this trouble.’
