Police halt UNICAL chapel service over fears of violence

The Cross River State Police Command has halted a Sunday service at the Chapel of Redemption, University of Calabar, amid a dispute over the control of the church.

The intervention followed a standoff between the university’s caretaker committee and an interim chaplain appointed by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Offiong Offiong, and the chapel’s substantive chaplain, Rev. Joseph Ushie.

The disagreement reportedly caused tension among worshippers, prompting the police to intervene and terminate the service to prevent a possible breakdown of law and order.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Godwin Etim, said he ordered the suspension of the service after assessing the situation and concluding that allowing it to continue could result in violence.

“There is palpable tension, and with what I see here, if I allow the service to continue, it will lead to bloodshed in this church,” Etim told journalists.

He said he subsequently met with Ushie, the interim chaplain and a member of the church’s Board of Trustees, adding that the parties agreed to suspend the service.

Etim said the groups had been invited to the police command on Monday for further discussions and urged them to remain calm.

The dispute comes amid an ongoing legal battle over the management and activities of the chapel.

A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt had reportedly issued an order restraining the university’s Vice-Chancellor and persons acting through him from interfering with the chapel premises and its activities.

Ushie had filed the suit against the Vice-Chancellor, the university Registrar, Dr Chukwuka Icha, and three others through his counsel, Chief Mba Ukweni, SAN.

The chaplain had asked the court to restrain the defendants from intimidating, threatening or assaulting him while exercising his right to worship at the chapel.

Justice Phoebe Ayuba subsequently granted an injunction restraining the respondents and anyone acting through them from interfering with the chapel’s premises and activities.

The court also directed the parties to maintain the status quo pending the hearing and determination of the substantive application, which is scheduled for August 20.