The Anglican Bishop of Ekiti-Oke Diocese, Most Rev Isaac Olatunde Olubowale, has charged Nigerian politicians to strive for enduring legacies by rendering selfless to their constituents.

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A week-long rededication prayer summit, organised by the St. Peter Anglican Church, Irete in Owerri Diocese of Imo State, ended in a grand style last Sunday.

The summit, which commenced last Monday, February 3, 2014 with prayer, worship songs, praises, testimonies, bible expositions, counseling, drama, among other activities, ended on Sunday, February 9, 2014 with a thanksgiving and fundraising service for the development of the church.

Speaking on the theme of the summit titled, “Being like-minded in Christ,” the host Vicar Rev. Kenneth Chikere, called on the members of the church to be imitators of Christ in characters that express the gospel as true, practicable timeless and eminent in all believers.

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About 1,000 delegates from the 178 Dioceses of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) will today storm Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, to deliberate on the progress of the church and much more importantly, review the state of the nation.

The church, which is worried over the state of the nation’s economy and high level corruption in the country, would from today embark on a week-long conference to address the issues, with a view to proffering an enduring solution to the endemic situation.

The 1,000-member standing committee of the church, led by its Primate, Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, according to Anglican Bishop of Ibadan Diocese, Most Reverend Joseph Akinfenwa, who addressed journalists in Ibadan to herald the meeting, reeled out a tale of woes of the nation as regards the national polity but concluded that with divine intervention, the forthcoming 2015 general election would be a success story.

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The Anglican Bishop of Enugu, Rt. Rev. Emmanuel Chukwuma, yesterday, expressed dismay over the threat by the Northern Elders Forum, NEF, to drag the immediate past Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika before the International Criminal Court, ICC, in Hague for alleged extra-judicial killings of some northerners.

He warned that the move could lead to a major crisis that would threaten the nation’s corporate existence. Bishop Chukwuma, who addressed a press conference in Enugu, said any attempt at persecuting the former COAS on account of the actions that were taken while he was in office would be resisted by the Igbos, urging the northern leaders to be well guided and advised.

He said Igbo would resist any attempt to humiliate the respected military officer who had succeeded in checkmating the activities of northern insurgents and their sponsors. His words: “Northern elders should be warned or they will set up inter-tribal war in Nigeria. Is it because Ihejirika is an Igbo man.

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Speaking exclusively to PREMIUM TIMES at his Abeokuta residence on Wednesday morning, shortly before he headed out to church for Christmas service, the retired primate of the Anglican Church said the gunmen pounced on him and his driver as he was leaving this foundation’s office along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.

He said the four-men gang blocked his car, and pulled him and his driver out at gun point. One of the bandits then took over the steering wheel while another member pinned down the cleric and his driver at the back.

Two other gang members followed behind in a Toyota Primera car they brought for the operation.

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THE Bishop of Osun North Diocese of the Anglican Communion, Right Reverend A.T Olaoye, at Okuku, has called on the Federal Government to be wary of the military and the police, saying that some of the security agents were thwarting government’s efforts in the fight against insurgency in the country, just as he cautioned the Osun State governor, Rauf Aregbesola, to exercise caution in the implementation of the new education policy for the state.

Olaoye lamented that “it is worrisome to note that we are still battling with the terrorists’ attacks till now”, accusing some officers in the military and the police for allegedly leaking intelligence reports to members of the Islamic group, thereby thwarting the efforts of the federal government in restoring peace in some troubled states in the North.

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The Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of All Nigeria, Anglican Church, Most Reverend Nicholas D. Okoh, on Monday, condemned killings of Christians in some parts of the country.

Most Reverend Okoh, who disclosed this while delivering his welcome address at the 2013 Divine Commonwealth Conference of the Anglican Church, however, thanked God for bringing the participants to the event safely.

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A major discussion centred on the Church of Nigeria’s opposition to what it considers concessions made in the Church of England to same-sex relationships, and the different cultural contexts of Nigeria and the UK. The Primate spoke with candour, emphasising that ripples of decisions made by the Church of England were felt strongly in Nigeria, often drawing criticism to the Anglican Church of Nigeria from other Nigerian denominations and faiths seeking to claim moral high ground.

In response, Bishop Christopher clarified the Church of England’s unchanged position on marriage, and asked for prayer as the General Synod continues its thinking on women bishops and human sexuality in the coming years. He also pledged prayer, particularly for Christian communities coming under increasing attack from militant Islamist groups in the north of Nigeria.

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Bishop of Enugu North Diocese, Anglican Communion, Rt Rev Sosthenes Eze has warned that Nigeria may be thrown into anarchy leading to disintegration if nothing is done now to stem the many crises the country is facing.

Bishop Eze who gave this warning yesterday during the first session of the Second Synod of the Diocese which held at St. Luke’sAnglican Church, Okpatu, Enugu North decried the awkward state of the nation.

He said that unless Christians and indeed all Nigerians turn to seek the face of God, the nation would surely slide into anarchy that would tear it apart.

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The Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion Ibadan Diocese of the Anglican Cathedral of St James The Great, Oke-Bola, Ibadan, on Thursday, finally bade farewell to late Tejumade Durosomo Alakija in a commendation service held at the cathedral.

The commendation service was dominated by various hymns and special numbers. It began with the hallelujah hymn at the commencement of the service with other songs including; ”˜Who are these like stars appearing’, ”˜Forever with the Lord,’ before the recessional hymn – We speak of The Realms. In addition, there were special renditions from various societies which the deceased was either a member, patroness or had benefitted one way or the other from….

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The Bishop of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Lagos-West Diocese, Rt. Rev. Peter Adebiyi (retd.) has condemned the plan by President Goodluck Jonathan to send the outcome of the proposed national conference to the National Assembly.

Adebiyi, who stated this while speaking on the state of the nation in Lagos, Tuesday said the federal lawmakers were not capable of addressing the many problems currently confronting the nation.

According to him, those who caused Nigeria’s problems should not be allowed to be part of those finding solution to the problems.

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The Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, left Abuja Sunday as the head of Nigeria’s 470-man delegation to Kenya, to attend the second Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), opening today.

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The Archbishop of Canterbury has said that he was ”˜moved to tears’ to welcome recently-released Nigerian archbishop Ignatius Kattey and his wife, Mrs Beatrice Kattey, to Lambeth Palace yesterday.

The Most Revd Ignatius Kattey, who is Dean and Archbishop of the Niger Delta Province, and Mrs Kattey were kidnapped on 6 September near their residence in the southern city of Port Harcourt. Mrs Kattey was released a few hours later, but Archbishop Kattey was held for more than a week.

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Kattey, who was released by his abductors after nine days of captivity in the forest, said the political leadership in the country must begin to be sensitive to the plights of the governed by carrying out the basic responsibilities of government to her citizens.

The Archbishop while narrating his ordeal in the den of his abductors, frowned at the allegation by the Rivers State Police Command that it facilitated his rescue. “The police did not rescue me and my wife. That the police rescued me and my wife is not true. I saw the police for the first time two days ago. The police public relations officer is telling lies. The commissioner of police apologised to me yesterday (Tuesday), “he said.

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The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Senator Magnus Abe, has charged Nigerians to see the travails of the Dean, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Most Rev. Ignatius Kattey, in the hands of kidnappers as a wake-up call, insisting that the country can no longer afford to play with the issue of security.

Abe, who stated this during a visit to Kattey shortly after he was released by his abductors, however said joblessness and financial challenges should not be placed as excuses for indulging in kidnapping and armed robbery. Kattey, who is also the Archbishop, Province of the Niger Delta and Bishop of the Diocese of the Niger Delta North, was released by his abductors on Saturday night after spending nine days in captivity.

“I just want to use this opportunity to thank Christian faithful across the country; every Christian in this country showed concern; so I thank all of us for what God has done and to say that this actually is a wake-up call for us as a country. We can no longer afford to play with the issue of security,” Abe, who representing Rivers South East in the National Assembly, said.

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The Anglican Communion has given thanks to God for the safe release of the Church of Nigeria’s second most senior cleric, Archbishop Ignatius Kattey.

Provincial Dean Abp Kattey and his wife were kidnapped more than a week ago by armed men near their residence in the southern city of Port Harcourt. Mrs Kattey was later abandoned by the kidnappers.

Statements of concern and prayers were issued around the Anglican Communion, not least from the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby who has visited Nigeria many times.

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Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt
Nigeria’s Anglican Archbishop Ignatius C.O Kattey, and the Dean of the Anglican Communion in Nigeria kidnapped eight days ago by gunmen, was set free Saturday night.

Venerable Israel Omisioni, the Archdeacon of Eleme Archdeaconry of the Anglican Communion of the Diocese Niger Delta North confirmed to PMNEWS on phone that the Second in Command to the Primate suddenly walked into his compound at Alode Eleme in Eleme local Government Area of Rivers State.

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Update: I was interested to discover this weekend that the Economist had been covering the story (KSH).

President Goodluck Jonathan has vowed that the Federal Government would not rest until the abducted Anglican cleric, Most Reverend Ignatius Kattey of Niger Delta Diocese regains his freedom.

Jonathan disclosed that he was already in touch with the Heads of security agencies in the nation on how to facilitate his freedom.

The President who gave this assurance while delivering a message at the standing committee meeting of St. Peter’s Deanery, Yenagoa, expressed concern that Bishop Kattey was still in kidnappers’ den after many days.

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…All Christians especially Anglicans were enjoined to fast and pray for immediate and unconditional release of Archbishop Kattey unhurt….

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Over 50 prison inmates at the Awka Prison have received sacrament of confirmation while 10 others were admitted into the fathers’ fellowship at the Chapel of Compassion Federal prisons, Awka, Anambra State by the Anglican Bishop of Awka Diocese, Rt, Revd Alexander Chibuzor Ibezim.

The inmates were naturally happy while a number of Anglican faithful, who attended the confirmation services, wept for them as the moving ceremony took place on Sunday

The ceremony further took a more sombre mood when the chapel choir sang a sombre hymn, which made everyone including the bishop and the Anglican prison chaplain, Rev. Canon Ferdinand Nkem Okoye to weep for the young Nigerians who have been languishing in the prison.
….
Delivering the sermon during the service, Bishop Ibezim observed that God destined the youths and all men to succeed in a Godly way rather than through foul means. “So, they need to live a life of integrity as their future lies in the hand of God” he said.

The prelate further informed that most great men like Joseph, Peter Apostle Paul and Silas as was recorded in the Holy Bible had been to prison.

“But they prayed their way out. So, your time here should be a time to seek the face of God. He brought you here to train you for higher responsibilities. Having passed through this prison experience, God can use you to change Anambra State and Nigeria because you are now change agents” he said.

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We lift up the sword of the Spirit, Lord. Defend the gospel in loyalty, honor, and commitment! Defend Archbishop Kattey! Deliver him with a strong hand and an outstretched arm!

Pray it all at Lent and Beyond

The Diocese of Niger Delta North will not pay a ransom for its kidnapped archbishop, the Most Rev. Ignatius Kattey ”“ Dean of the Church of Nigeria and Archbishop of the Province of the Niger Delta.

At an 8 September 2013 press conference in Port Harcourt, the Ven. Richard Opara, president of the diocesan clergy council said that while no ransom demand had been received, the diocese would not negotiate with criminals.

“No contact has been made with the captors. We will not pay any ransom. Ransom payment is not in our dictionary. We are only asking for his unconditional release. We are not happy and the Church of Nigeria is weeping because the number two man has been taken away,” the archdeacon told the press conference.

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Senior leaders of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) will still meet for their bi-annual Standing Committee, despite the kidnapping of their Provincial Dean.

The second most senior cleric in the Church of Nigeria, Dean of the Province and Archbishop of Niger Delta Province, the Most Revd Ignatius Kattey, was kidnapped by armed men late on Friday evening.

Provincial Communciations Director, Canon Taiwo Faluso, said, “We are praying that God in His infinite mercy will grant us, very quickly, the Dean’s release from the hoodlums that took him”.

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The Dean of the Anglican Church of Nigeria [River State], Archbishop Ignatius Kattey, was abducted at about 10.30pm on Friday, as he journeyed in the company of his wife, Beatrice, from Eleme to Port Harcourt.

It was gathered that the abductors later freed the cleric’s wife, following a chase by the police.

The Bishop was taken to an unknown destination….

Read it all and you can see the diocesan information there and you can see the basic location in Nigeria on the map here.

[The] Rev. Isaac Onwusongaonye of St. James Anglican Cathedral, of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), told Morning Star News that at about 6 p.m., as he and six other church leaders were meeting for Bible study preparation and the choir was about to begin rehearsal, a church member told them that someone was arguing with the young man in charge of the church-run water borehole, Peter Aleku.

“When we enquired of the water seller what happened, he said that a girl, a (Muslim) neighbor, came and bought water worth 20 naira (1 US cent) and did not pay,” Onwusongaonye said.

He added, “Shortly after, the girl’s sister came and fetched water worth 5 naira and paid 20 naira and demanded 15 naira in change. But the water seller told her that, for the change, to meet her sister who bought water earlier and did not pay.”
The girl was upset and told her mother about the exchange, the clergyman said.

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Former Primate, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), The Most Reverend (Dr) Peter Akinola, has raised the alarm that the nation is under siege and its future remains bleak, unless conscious effort is made to wage war against corruption, which has remained the greatest challenge to its development.

The cleric stated this while addressing newsmen at a Media Roundtable on “Breaking the Corruption Jinx in Nigeria,” at his Abeokuta home on Tuesday.

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The Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Archbishop Nicholas Okoh has paid a solidarity visit to residents of Borno State.

He said the Anglican Church was worried over the inability to communicate with the people of the state, hence, it had to raise a team to visit the state.

The spiritual head of the Anglican Church, who was accompanied to the troubled state by 14 other Bishops, revealed during a courtesy call on Borno State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Zanna Umar Mustapha, on Monday, that they were in the state to sympathize and share difficulties with the people and pray for peace to return.

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The Primate of the Anglican Church of Nigeria, Nicholas Okoh has condemned the emergence of the ‘get rich quick’ sermon that is the rave of most Pentecostal Churches in the country.

Speaking as a guest on Channels Television’s programme View From The Top, Archbishop Okoh said this was not the foundation that was laid by the missionaries who introduce Christianity in Nigeria.

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Three male widowers were last Sunday empowered by the men’s fellowship of the Cathedral Church of St. Batholomew, Kubwa, with the sum of N3.5million to assist them in taking care of their families.

The President of the fellowship, Innocent Ekeopara, who spoke to our reporter, said the gesture is in line with the organisation’s mandate to empathise with members, who are faced with financial challenges.

He said the assumption that some men who lost their wives would not find it difficult in taking up the family responsibilities might be wrong especially when the woman was the bread winner before her demise.

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