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A popular Catholic priest in Nigeria, Father Ejike Mbaka, and some members of his church, attacked a BBC team and two others at their compound in the town of Emene, in the southeastern state of Enugu, Wednesday night.
BBC journalists Chioma Obianinwa and Nnamdi Agbanelo, as well as their driver, Ndubuisi Nwafor, were accompanied by another Catholic priest, Father Cajethan Obiekezie, and his assistant, Solomon Orakam, to Father Mbaka’s Ministry of Worship around 10 a.m. : 00 local time on Wednesday. .
Father Obiekezie had facilitated an interview with Father Mbaka, but it could not be done immediately because he was preaching.
The BBC team, led by Father Obiekezie, went to Father Mbaka’s house after the church service to conduct the interview around 5:00 PM.
When Father Mbaka got home, the journalists, who were waiting in the car after Father Obiekezie came to speak to him, were suddenly surrounded by about 20 men.
According to Obianinwa, the men confiscated their equipment and threatened to kill them for writing “negative reports on Mbaka”.
“Mbaka asked us to wait until the end of the show for the interview. The men outside their home said that BBC Igbo wrote negative things about Mbaka and began beating Nnamdi, Solomon and Ndubuisi. They were hit hard on the head and all over the body, ”Obianinwa said.
The BBC reporter further said that Father Mbaka and Father Obiekezie left the house when they heard the noise and that Father Mbaka looked at her and started sticking his fingers in her face, calling her “satanic”.
“This encouraged the men to continue the attacks while Father Mbaka continued to yell and abuse us. He asked his men to seize our phones and cameras. They said they would kill us and nothing would happen. They took off my wig and tried to strangle Nnamdi. Father Obiekezie was telling them to stop, but they also attacked him and seized his phone, ”he said.
Obianinwa said the attacks stopped when he shouted that “the world would know that they were killed at Mbaka’s house.”
“At this point, Father Mbaka asked us to leave before his men killed us. He asked them to give us our equipment back and they kicked us out of the compound. His men followed us until we left the state to seek medical security and police help, ”he said.
When the BBC called the number of Father Mbaka’s official Facebook page to find out his reaction, it shut down.
