Abuja, Nigeria - HEAVILY armed Mobile Policemen last week demolished St. Andrew's Anglican Church building in Ugbuwangue community allegedly on "orders from above", just as the Bishop of the Warri Diocese of the Church worshipped with the congregation under the scorching sun last Sunday.
The fierce-looking security operatives, who came with a payloader to execute the demolition order, brooked no-nonsense from anyone, as they declined efforts made to ascertain where they came from and who ordered them.
It was learnt that the destruction of the Church building was a mistake on the part of the security men because the church building site was legally acquired from the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing. It is also not cited on estate land.
When Vanguard visited the demolished property, the Pastor in-Charge, Mr. Gordons Oghenevo produced all the documents to prove that the said portion of land was duly approved by the Secretary, Land Use and Allocation Committee of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Mr. Ike Odoe, in 1996.
Mr. Oghenevo appealed to the Delta State government to re-build the church and equip same to enable them continue in their task of soul winning for Christ.
Meanwhile, a large parcel of land belonging to the government, where a housing estate is situated, has been illegally fenced off by land speculators from the community and hired out to cattle rearers along the NPA/Ugbuwangue expressway.
The land speculator and cow dealers had, by their action, blocked the proposed access way to the estate, making it difficult for the contractor about to construct an access road into the estate to mobilize to site.
Vanguard gathered that the action was taken to pave way for the contractor to mobilize to site without let or hindrance by anyone.