By Chinenyeh Ozor
A three day- crusade aimed at cleansing the wraths of two dreaded deities in Enugu Ida Opi community of Nsukka LGA, Enugu state, turned sour as police allegedly detained two of the organizers of the crusade.

The community had organized the crusade and invited Rev. Fr. Paul Obayi (Okunerere) to officiate, together with an indigenous priest of the community, Rev. Fr. Ben Agbo, for total cleansing of the three villages that made up the community which include Enugu Ida, Nkpurueze and Amufu, believing that the two dreaded deities were the cause of all setbacks in the community and decided to do away with them.

Gov. Chime of Enugu State

The three day- crusade was made possible because it had the consent of the entire community and it was on that stand that the Rev Obayi could officiate a non denominational crusade anddestroy deities that belong to a group or community.

After the crusade, one Eleje Vincent who felt the community had snuffed life out of him by destroying the two dreaded deities, invited the police who in turn arrested and detained two of the organizers of the crusade Mr. Emeka Isiwu and Livinus Ezea.

Consequently, the detention of the two persons triggered mass protest of both old and young in the community. They chanted sorrowful songs and trekked over 10 kilometres from the community to the police station, seeking immediate release of the persons.

The police, sensing danger, released canister tear gases which left many of them with wounds and the old women falling on their side in tears. One of the wounded mother, Esther Ezugwu, who had big cut on her right leg told Saturday Vanguard that she is not deterred by the wound but police should release the two persons as destruction of the two deity were generally agreed by the entire community before Fr. (Okunerere) was contacted for the communal cleansing.

A spokesman for the community Barr. Ezea Joseph who spoke disclosed that the two dreaded deities, Omaba and Onunsi, were generally owned by the three villages that made up the community and that it was why it was possible to discard them, without infringing on the right of any or group of persons.

“Imagine a whole community one person felt injured after a crusade, he is satanic.” Ezugwu also said it was believed  in the past  that human beings were alleged sacrificed to the deities and this was traced to be responsible for all evils and setbacks both human and infrastructural developments in the community, explaining that was why the crusade was non-denominational and involved everybody in the community. As at the time of filling this report, the two victims were in police custody.

A competent senior officer who pleaded anonymity said that the protest was under control as police had dialogued with the leaders on best way to resolve the problem in the community over the deities.