(PHOTOS) 12 ARRESTED FOR SETTING CATHOLIC CHURCH BUILDING ABLAZE

The Parish Priest of Our Lady of Fatima
Catholic Church, Nkpor in Idemili North Local Government
Area of Anambra State, near Onitsha, Rev. Fr. Martin
Onukwuba and another priest-in-residence, Rev. Fr. Ben
Oguejieofor, yesterday, escaped death by whiskers when
some suspected arsonists invaded the church premises and
set the priests' house ablaze.
The incident, according to sources, occurred while Fr.
Onukwuba was celebrating a morning mass inside the main
church building, while Fr. Oguejiofor was in the fathers'
house.
It was not yet clear, at press time, who the arsonists were
but the police at Ogidi Division have arrested no fewer than
12 suspects, including some workers at Our Lady's Bread
Bakery and Industrial Centre within the compound.
Frs. Onukwuba and Oguejiofor confirmed to newsmen at the
scene that when they noticed unusual movements within the
church compound, they scaled the fence and jumped into
neighbouring compound in order not to be burnt alive.
They also confirmed that the attackers who they suspected
to be security operatives guarding the compound, started
their operation in the early hours, shooting sporadically in
the air and into the two-storey building where the Reverend
Fathers reside.
According to them, when the attack became too hot for
them, they escaped by jumping through the fence into an
adjacent compound.
They further confirmed that although there were some gun
shorts,Tuesday night, around the area, the main attack
came in the early hours of yesterday.
Specifically, Fr. Onukwuba disclosed that the Ogidi High
Court had earlier issued an order that the blockages
mounted by the security officers inside the Our Lady's
Industrial Centre to block vehicular movements to the
priests' residence be dismantled, an order which he said did
not go down well with the security men.
Onukwuba further disclosed that when the attackers could
not get him or the residenct priest, they set the two-storey
building ablaze and also burnt the boy's quarters.
The Parish priest, however, said those arrested by the
police were just members of staff of Our Lady's Industrial
Centre and bakery as the security guards who attacked
them were on the run.
It would be recalled that the proprietor of Our Lady's
Industrial Centre, Mrs. Onuora, built the church single
handedly and donated it to the church many years ago. It
was commissioned by Cardinal Francis Arinze, the then
Archbishop of Onitsha.
But recently, one of her daughters who was said to have left
the Catholic church and joined a pentecostal church has
been itching to throw out the Catholic faithful from the
premises, to hand it over to her new denomination.
The counsel to the church, C. J. Asiegbu also told newsmen
that he was seriously suspecting the security operatives in
the compound who are in the employ of the land lady who
he said was in court with the church, prior to the incident.
The Divisional Police Officer at Ogidi, Mr. Yusuf Abdul who
confirmed the incident, said he had deployed some
policemen to the church premises to effect more arrests.