Worshippers at Assemblies of God Church, Zion Family, located at 134B Wethedral Road, Owerri, Imo State, were unable to hold their usual Sunday service as youth members of the church staged a protest.
The youth locked the church premises, preventing access to the congregation, in response to a petition against their officiating minister, Reverend Obinna Nwoko.
The protest stemmed from allegations raised by the Odionyemma family, accusing Rev. Nwoko of incorporating Ofo, a traditional Igbo staff of authority, into his religious practices.
The family had petitioned the General Council of the Assemblies of God Church in Enugu, citing misconduct. However, the protesting youths strongly rejected these claims, arguing that the accusations were a tactic to undermine the pastor due to external interference in church affairs.
The President of the church’s youth fellowship, Kingsley Asuzu, expressed the frustration of the youth, explaining that the Odionyemma family had been trying to exert undue influence over the church’s administration.
“How can they accuse him of gross misconduct? They only want to use that to hang him in their petition. He has done nothing wrong, and the family should rather be blamed for what’s happening in the church,” Asuzu stated.
He further alleged that the minister had been publicly harassed, including incidents where he was forcibly stopped from preaching by having the microphone taken from him on the pulpit.
“How can a minister be officiating on the pulpit and then they will go there to embarrass him by forcefully dragging the microphone from him and asking him to go and sit down?
“The problem is that they have been forcing the minister to do their wishes but when he refused, they brought the idea of writing a petition against him, alleging that he had gone traditional in his ministrations by ending his prayers or teachings with “Ofor”. But this is not true.
“We wish to let the General Superintendent and all the Assemblies of God community both locally, nationally, and internationally know that the Zion family will stop at nothing to resist, revolt and withstand any appearance of injustice, unfairness in the process of handling the petition”, Azuzu added.
With tensions high and no resolution yet, the future of Rev. Nwoko’s leadership remains uncertain. The church leadership in Enugu is expected to make a decision on the matter, but for now, the congregation remains divided, with members awaiting the next steps in this unfolding dispute.