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Anambra State Magistrate Court 4, sitting in Amawbia, Awka South Local Government Area, presided over by Magistrate E. C. Chukwu, on Friday, arraigned a Human Rights Activist, Comrade Osita Obi, for allegedly posting defamatory statements on his Facebook pages against the Catholic Diocese of Awka. Obi, according to a charge sheet no. AWK/C/2025 between the Commissioner of Police, Anambra State, allegedly defamed the church in a post made on August 15, 2025, through his Facebook page “Osita Obi” and another Facebook page “Igbo History.” The prosecuting Counsel, A. G. Obi of the Legal Department, State CID, represented by I. J. Umeh, alleged that the activist in the post claimed that “the Catholic Diocese of Awka was not better than Boko Haram and bandits, and that it was better to deal with Lucifer than to deal with the said Church.” The charge added that the post “had caused injury to the reputation of the Church priest Rev. Fr. Chudy P. S. Aguinam and the members and exposed them to hatred, contempt and ridicule before the right-thinking members of the public. You hereby commit an offence contrary to Section 324 (a) and punishable under Section 325 of the Criminal Code Cap 36 Vol. II revised laws of Anambra State.” The defendant, Comrade Osita Obi, however, said he was not guilty and, through his Counsel, Blessing Arinze-Obi, who held brief for Martins Obi, applied for bail on the grounds of good character and responsible conduct, assuring that he would not jump bail. But the prosecuting Counsel, A. G. Obi, while refusing to oppose the bail application, urged the court to caution the defendant against making further inflammatory or prejudicial statements while the matter is pending. As a result, the presiding Magistrate, E. C. Chukwu, inquired if the defendant had personal issues with the Awka Catholic Diocese, and Obi explained how the Diocese earlier petitioned the police against his wife, a retired Deputy Director of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), alleging that she was aiding and abetting kidnapping. “The police came to my wife’s shop, arrested her, and detained her for several hours. I petitioned the Commissioner of Police requesting details of their findings, but up till now, they have not furnished me with any report. This situation has endangered my family and children,” he said. According to him, the Church also broke into the shop his wife rented for business with her retirement benefits and threw her goods out in the rain. “They claimed they had obtained a court judgment against my wife without serving her any court process,” he added. Also speaking, the defence counsel, Blessing Arinze-Obi, informed the court about another pending civil matter between Obi’s family and the Catholic Diocese of Awka before the same magistrate court, seeking to set aside an alleged order purportedly obtained by the Diocese to claim ownership of the disputed property. But the Magistrate, after listening to both parties, granted bail to the defendant in the sum of ₦200,000 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira), with one surety not below Grade Level 10 in the civil service. The court further restrained both parties from making any further inflammatory or prejudicial statements concerning the case pending the determination of the matter. The case was adjourned to December 15, 2025, for the commencement of the trial. ALSO READ TOP STORIES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
