Awka Tenants’ Nightmare: Catholic Church Destroys N15M Property in No-Notice Eviction

Awka tenants damaged property and court order procured by Catholic Church

Tenants in Awka, Anambra State, have expressed deep distress over the actions of the Catholic Diocese of Awka, which allegedly used a court order to evict them without prior notice or proper court proceedings.

The tenants, who operated legitimate businesses in rented shops along Secretariat Road, claim to have suffered losses exceeding N15 million due to an eviction carried out following a Magistrate Court judgment without any prior warning.

According to the tenants, the Catholic Diocese executed the eviction abruptly, using a court order from the Magistrate Court to break into their shops without any prior notice.

They recounted arriving at their workplaces on Thursday morning, only to be met by stern-looking security operatives and court bailiffs, who presented a court judgment declaring that the initial landlord of the building was not the rightful owner.

Based on this ruling, security operatives forcefully opened their shops which were exposed to heavy rain ,throwing out goods that were subsequently damaged.

It was gathered that the disputed property was originally constructed by a late Reverend Father, who allegedly handed it over to his nephew, the man the tenants knew and addressed as their landlord prior to the court ruling.

However, after the Reverend Father’s passing, the Awka Catholic Diocese filed a suit claiming ownership of the building, stating that it belonged to the church rather than an individual.

The court ultimately ruled in favor of the church, affirming its ownership over the nephew.

Expressing his anguish, one of the affected tenants,a human rights activist and convener of the Recover Nigeria Project, Comrade Osita Obi stated that they were unaware of any ownership dispute concerning the building.

He said that even if the court ruled against the former landlord, the tenants should have received prior notice to enable them to remove their property safely.

Instead, the church reportedly broke into their shops on Thursday without warning, destroying goods worth millions of Naira.

“We have no issue with who owns the property; our concern is that we were not informed or given notice about the pending court matter. Our former landlord never informed us about the dispute,”

“This is my wife’s shop. She is out of town, and I had gone for physiotherapy when I received a call that security operatives were breaking into her shop. That is how I came here,” he added.

Obi further explained that had the church notified them at least two days in advance, they could have evacuated their goods, allowing the judgment to be executed without unnecessary losses.

He revealed that he personally lost over N5 million, while co-tenants who had paid rent a month prior and invested in shop renovations and perishable goods suffered estimated losses exceeding N9 million.

“We are at a loss about what to do next. We demand justice. I have petitioned the Awka Area Commander, who has invited me to his office ”

“We will pursue this matter to its conclusion,” he vowed.