Two pastors fight dirty over Assemblies of God Enugu parish

The 27 Mount Street Parish of the Assemblies of God Church of Nigeria in Enugu was turned into a battle field yesterday as two pastors and their supporters engaged in fisticuffs over who should take control of the parish.

One of the pastors, Rev (Dr) Nathaniel Udeze, came with letters of posting and other court documents in preparation to be installed as the new pastor.

But he was resisted by the resident pastor, Rev. Amaechi Agbo, and his supporters, who vowed not to shift ground for someone they called an “intruder.”

The ensuing controversy, an offshoot of the crisis which has factionalised the church since 2014 with two General Superintendents (GS), Rev (Professor Paul Emeka and Rev (Dr) Chidi Okoroafor, degenerated as the supporters of both pastors engaged in a free for all.

The fight attracted the attention of officers of the nearby Ikirrike Divisional Police, Idaw River Enugu, who stormed the church and shut it down to avoid a breakdown of law and order.

Newswatch Times learnt that the police decision to shut down the church would appear as a last resort after several hours of failed mediation.

Both factions were said to have stuck to their guns as the incoming Pastor, Rev Udeze, insisted that he had been posted to the new parish by the leadership of the church under Rev Emeka and that Rev. Agbo had been transferred to another parish since May, 2015.

But Rev Agbo insisted that he was still in charge of the parish as he was yet to be written by the Rev (Dr.) Okoroafor’s leadership of the church.

The trouble started as early as 7a.m. when supporters of both pastors arrived at the church premises and started sharing different versions of the Sunday school manual in preparation for the main service.

The sharing of the two different manuals led to inflamed passions as their supporters came close to exchanging blows even before the arrival of their respective pastors.

But when the factional pastors arrived, the situation broke down completely as one of the pastors was seen shoving the other and their supporters, consequently, engaged in fisticuffs before police intervened and ordered everybody out of the church.

The Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) was the first to arrive with a team in a police Hilux van and he quickly engaged the leadership of the two factions in a dialogue, which dragged on till around 11a.m. when the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, Dennis Ayara, arrived and took charge of the negotiation.

But when it appeared that the intervention was leading to nowhere, the DPO ordered the shutting down of the church with every entry doors put under lock and key.

He then invited the leadership of the two factions to the police station for further discussions.

Indeed, the matter between Rev Emeka and Rev Okoroafor, the two leaders of the church contesting the General Superintendent position of the church, is said to have impacted negatively on the leadership of the church. It is said to be in several courts, including the Supreme Court.

The fracas at the 27 Mount Street Parish of the church remained only a demonstration of power tussle between loyalists of the two contending General Superintendents fighting for the soul of the parish.