Gov Soludo Reveal Why We Odumeje Church Was Demolished In Onitsha

The Anambra State governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has explained why government de­molished the Mountain of Holy Ghost Intervention and Deliver­ance Ministry owned by contro­versial Prophet Chukwuemeka Ohanaemere alias ‘Odumeje’ in the commercial city of Onitsha. Governor Soludo in a state­ment by his Chief Press Secre­tary, Christian Aburime, said the cleric failed to comply with gov­ernment’s directive to remove illegal structure he built on the waterway.

Odumeje’s church in March this year was identified by the government as one of the build­ings sitting on drainage chan­nels, and marked for demolition, in line with Onitsha Urban Re­newal Plan spearheaded by Solu­do-led administration.

The statement reads, “Follow­ing the expiration of the more than two weeks’ notice beginning from April 2022 served on devel­opers and building owners who built several illegal structures along the waterway in Fegge and environs within Onitsha, Anam­bra State government has begun demolition of such structures.

On Thursday the Anambra State government demolished the Mountain of Holy Ghost Intervention and Deliverance Ministry led by controversial Prophet Chukwuemeka Ohanaemere, a.k.a ‘Odumeje’ in the commercial city of Onitsha. This was in line with the Onitsha Urban Renewal Plan spearheaded by Governor Charles Soludo.

The structure was said to be erected along Nwagene stream and had to be removed for the actualisation of the Onitsha Urban Renewal Plan. A viral footage on the social media shows the moment Armed Taskforce officials manhandled the prophet as he attempted to stop the demolition exercise.

It was gathered that Odumeje’s church had in March this year been identified by the Anambra State government as one of the buildings sitting on drainage channels, and marked for demolition. Anambra State governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, had visited Okpoko, a sprawling slum in Onitsha, a day after his swearing-in, and pledged to sanitize the area by ensuring the drainages are free.

During Thursday’s demolition exercise, sources said Odumeje had attempted to stop the officials of the state government from demolishing his church when he was manhandled by security men who accompanied the demolition team.

A video trending online showed the comic cleric being shoved around by security men, including police officers and men of the vigilante services. He was severally slapped and restricted from moving to the demolition area by armed security men. The video, however, sparked mixed reactions, with many condemning the treatment of the cleric, saying it was unfair to manhandle him.

Meanwhile, sympathisers who spoke during the demolishing of the church bemoaned the actions of the security men while some stressed that the treatment served him right as he had himself several times invaded shrines that are considered sacred and known to be places of worship by others while destroying them.

Austine Ikeru
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