There are palpable tension in Taraba State over the alleged invasion of the house of a Catholic priest by the Nigerian Army.... CLICK TO READ THE FULL NEWS HERE▶▶
The house of the priest, which is located in Ikyaior village, in Wukari Local Council of the state, was alleged to have been invaded on Wednesday by heavily armed soldiers.
Piqued by the development, the Catholic priest of Wukari Diocese, Rev. Richard Unom, expressed concern at the alleged way and manner the men of the Nigerian Army invaded his house.
The priest stated that the soldiers invaded his house, severely tortured him and his cook, Terhemen Cornelius for no just reason.
He urged the authorities in the state and the federal to as matter of urgency bring the soldiers to book.
Unom said the personnel tortured and even threatened to kill them despite his plea and identifying himself as a Catholic priest.
“I just reported to my new station at the All Saints Pastoral Centre on Friday, August 2, and on Monday August 5 at about 9:00a.m., I saw six Hilux load of Army personnel and motorcycles in the church premises and I approached them and introduced myself as a priest in charge of the church.
“I tried to enquire from them what was happening and they told me that they were on a mission in the area in search of criminals.
“One of them requested for water which I asked one of the altar boys to give him.”
I then went inside to prepare because I was heading for Wukari town to buy a few things. It was while I was inside that I heard my cook crying and calling on me for help.
“I quickly stepped out and found him on the ground while the soldiers were mercilessly beating him. I cried out that he was my cook. I kept appealing to them to leave him and I repeated to them that I am a priest and one of them shouted ‘you are a priest so what’? He narrated.
He explained that the soldiers suddenly descended on him too, until one of them rescued him.
According to him, his cook got injured in the eyes and is currently at the Federal Medical Centre, Jalingo.
When contacted, the spokesperson of the 6 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Jalingo covering the area, Captain Oni Olubodunde, said those behind the operation were not men of the 6 Brigade.
“I am aware of the incident, but those behind the incident are not personnel of our brigade and I doubt if they are even true army personnel,” he declared.
