JUST IN: United Evangelical Church Pastor Insists Object Suspected To Be Explosive Was Found In Church Premises, Faults Abia Police Denial.
Associate Pastor Eleazar Onyenweaku of the United Evangelical Church, Ehere/Umuola, Ogbor Hill, Aba, has strongly refuted the Abia State Police Command’s denial of a bomb or explosive discovery on the church grounds, describing the police statement as false and urging a thorough independent investigation.
In an exclusive interview with our correspondent during a visit to the church on Tuesday, Pastor Onyenweaku maintained that a dangerous explosive device was indeed exhumed from shallow soil last Friday while laborers excavated a foundation for a new perimeter fence around the church parsonage. The work complied with a government directive to set back structures for an ongoing road expansion project.
The Abia State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Maureen Chinaka, had earlier dismissed media reports of the incident in an official statement, asserting that no bomb or explosive was recovered. The police attributed the confusion to an iron rod removed from a church pillar during military-assisted adjustments to comply with the road project, and confirmed through the local Divisional Police Officer that no such device existed.
“I can authoritatively confirm that no bomb or explosive was recovered from the said area,” the police statement read in part. “Thorough investigations… have affirmed this… There was nothing resembling a bomb or explosive recovered anywhere in Aba.”
Pastor Onyenweaku expressed disbelief at the police conclusion, questioning how it was reached without any officers visiting the site. He recounted that workers, digging carefully to avoid underground water pipes, uncovered a metallic object buried less than a foot deep. Initially mistaken for scrap metal, it was examined more closely after the site engineer cleaned it.
“Having lived in Northern Nigeria where I had seen explosives before, I immediately recognized it. The safety ring was still intact,” the pastor said. He quickly isolated the object near a plantain stand and, failing to reach military contacts directly, rushed to Ndoki Primary School military base with photographs.
A team led by a Captain responded, confirmed the item’s dangerous nature, evacuated it in a Hilux vehicle, and warned of possible additional buried devices. The pastor explained his decision to approach the military first, citing their expertise with explosives over police resources.
He rejected suggestions that the device was a relic from the Nigerian Civil War, noting its lack of rust and relatively new appearance. While not accusing anyone specifically, he stressed no recent conflicts in the area and appealed to Abia State Governor Dr. Alex Otti for intervention, including a full premises scan and heightened security to ease fears among congregants.
DSS operatives and intelligence personnel from Umuahia have since visited for preliminary inquiries, according to the pastor.
Church elders Elder Andy Amadi and Deacon Obioma Adielle, present during the visit, corroborated the account and echoed calls for the government not to downplay the incident.
Efforts to reach the Governor’s Security Adviser, Navy Commander MacAnthony Ubah, were unsuccessful, with calls unanswered and no response to a text message at the time of filing. The Acting Assistant Director of Army Public Relations, 14 Brigade Ohafia, Captain Mazinho Attah, promised to follow up but had not responded by press time.
