Anglican Church Sues Anambra Over Bishop Crowther School Property

Anglican Church Sues Anambra Over Bishop Crowther School Property

THE Anglican Communion, Diocese on the Niger, Onitsha, Anambra State, has dragged the Anambra State government to court in its bid to recover Bishop Crowther Memorial Primary School, Onitsha which it said belongs to the mission.

According to the chancellor of the diocese and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Kpajie Nnamdi Ibegbu, the church had filed three different suits against the Anambra State government in connection with the disputed Bishop Crowther Memorial Primary School.

Ibegbu, who did not give details of the suit, expressed confidence that the pendulum of victory would swing in the direction of the church at the court.

According to him, “with all the documents we have and the facts we have, no reasonable tribunal will enter judgment against us.”

He traced the origin of the school to 1927 when one Lady Anesthesia Modebe leased the land located at the Nkisi road to Church Missionary Society, CMS, now Niger Diocese. He said a school named after Bish­ op Crowther was much later built on the land but the local authority equivalent of local government area wanted a school they would aid.

His words: “The church granted them the school but in 1970, the East Central State administration under Ukpabi Asika took over the control, management and administration of all the schools in the defunct East Central State. However, in 2012, Mr. Peter Obi as the governor of Anambra state due to the disputes and false claims of ownership  of some schools set up a committee on the resolution of disputes, over takeover of schools by the then East Central State.

“The report which was submitted to Obi in Page 43 no 43 clearly stated that the school belongs to the Niger Diocese”.

In the report, the committee headed by a former chief judge of the state, Justice G. U. U, Ononiba with Pastor Azubuike Nkalagu, a deputy director, administra tion as secretary said, “evidence of the inquiry showed that Bishop Crowther Memorial Primary School is an Anglican Primary School built in 1956. It should be given to them”.