Youths from Nweke Ndiagu in Effium autonomous community could not control their temper. They decided to vent their anger on Pastor Gideon Chizoba of Grace of God Mission in the area.
What happened? He had stopped Mr. Chukwuma Nomeh’s daughter, Onyinye, from marrying her heartthrob even when her dowry had been paid.
The pastor premised his action on the ground that
the dowry was paid in his absence and that he should be the one to receive it. He immediately called Onyinye, who was his church member and instructed her to prevail on her father to return the dowry to the husband and reject the already consummated traditional marriage. The girl adhered to Pastor Gideon’s instruction.
Her father, after several pleadings and persuasions to Onyinye not to turn down the marriage since the dowry had been paid which could not yield positive results, contacted Onyinye’s husband to come for the collection of the dowry as the marriage has been cancelled.
Nomeh had also met with Gideon and pleaded that her daughter be allowed to marry her heart’s desire.That also hit the rocks. As the matter could not be resolved, Nomeh reported it to his kinsmen and kindred who warned the Pastor to rescind his decision.
By then, Onyinye and her step-sister have packed their properties and relocated to Pastor Gideon’s church which compounded the matter as the two aggrieved girls refused to return to their father’s house.
Every effort made to ensure that Onyinye and Miracle returned home proved abortive. The matter was reported to the Effium Police Division and Gideon was arrested and taken to Police area command, Abakaliki. He was thereafter granted bail and urged to release Nomeh’s daughters to him.
The police instruction did not go down well with Gideon as he did not release Onyinye and Miracle. Angered by the matter, youths of the area numbering over 30 last week invaded his church and destroyed some properties therein.
They allegedly carted away N800,000 meant to buy land for permanent site of Gideon’s church. The angry youths, who stormed the church at about 11pm, first descended on Miracle, who is the choir mistress and broke her hands.But for the quick intervention of police in the area, Miracle would have been lynched.
The police rescued her and rushed her to Sudan Mission Hospital, where she was revived. Speaking to New Telegraph on the incident, Gideon explained that the church had embarked on 7-day programme when a group of boys jumped into the church premises, switched off electricity generating set and vandalized the church musical instruments.
He said the youths were led by Chukwuma Nomeh, Onyinye’s father who had been accusing him of harbouring his daughters and other female church members to prevent them from getting married.
He explained that misunderstanding ensued between him and Nomeh when a man came to marry Nomeh’s daughter. “I told Onyinye and the husband to go for medical test before they will be wedded but the girl’s father opposed my advice.
He said he did not undergo medical test when he married his own wife and therefore his daughter will not go for any medical test.The man had collected the daughter’s dowry in my absence and I asked why such thing was done in my absence because I have to be around to witness it’’, he said.
Gideon said after the heated argument between him and Nomeh, the purported marriage between Onyinye and the husband could not hold and alleged that Nomeh and his sons have been threatening him with guns and matchets on daily basis.
Onyinye on her part, said that her father broke her hand during the church invasion. She said she decided to make a u-turn on her marriage with her heartthrob on personal ground.
