“Our Lives Are In Serious Danger” – Christian Organization Cries Out To  Abia Government

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

An Aba-based Christian Faith  Organization, the Jesus Holy Ministry, on Thursday March 20,2025 , petitioned the Abia state Government over a serious threat posed to the health of its over two thousand members by the unregulated activities of a neighbouring poultry farm.

This is even as it accused the State Ministry of Environment and its officials of closing their eyes to the serious  health challenges being faced by thousands of residents, owing to the unwholesome and unhygienic activities of the poultry farm owners.

The Church  said the  intervention of the  Abia State Government and other relevant authorities are urgently needed to save its members from being  consumed by possible outbreak of epidemic.

The Christian organization,  in a  petition  to the Abia State Commissioner for Environment, Philemon  Ogbonna, dated January 30, 2025, a copy of which was made available to this magazine, noted that the indiscriminate dumping of poultry wastes on open surface, and their subsequent exposure to sun and rain with its attendant offensive odour and harmful bacteria have exposed its worshipers and guests to serious health challenges.

“My instruction is that my client is a Christian Organization with well over two thousand members/worshipers who attend the Ministry’s religious activities on regular basis and in addition to the regular religious activities. The Ministry, also, has facilities/clinic that takes care of the sick and psychosis.

“My client’s further instruction is that her said Ministry has been in existence at the said address for well over thirty (30) years now and for a larger part of this time it has enjoyed peace, tranquility, cordial relationship and respect/regard with her neighbours until few years ago when one Mr Chijioke Simon ,and his wife who are livestock/poultry farmers set up a large scale poultry farm having well over five thousand (5000) poultry birds adjacent my client’s Ministry/building.

“With the passage of time ,and without any proper environmental/health safety measures on ground at the poultry farm ,the owner of the said farm and their workers began dumping poultry wastes indiscriminately on open surface, and exposed the said poultry wastes to the sun and rains with its attendant odour/harmful bacteria, highly polluted water that flows  out from the farm ,and being that my Client’s Ministry/building is closest to the poultry farm, members of my Client’s Ministry became the first recipient of the harmful toxics coming out from the said poultry farm ,and which has caused serious health challenges to members of the ministry who attend weekly activities of the Ministry”, the Ministry’s lawyer stated.

The Christian organization further noted that several efforts made to get the farm owners to take steps and halt the nuisance have so far been ignored.

According to the  Church ,it had earlier  petitioned the Inspector General of Police, demanding for an investigation into the alleged harmful activities of the poultry farm managers, but all to no avail.

“However, it came to the knowledge of my client that the said farm owners have been recalcitrant ,because  they claimed they have the backing of your office/Ministry (Abia state Environment Ministry) to continue in their act of polluting the environment and causing health challenges to the neighborhood and particularly members of the my client’s ministry who are made to inhale the toxic odours emanating from the poultry farm as a result of the poor sanitary condition of the place.

“Their claim is further strengthened by the fact that when the Police from the office of the Commissioner of Police came on investigation with regard to an earlier petition and arrested one of the owners, Mrs Chijioke Simon sometime in November 20024, my client observed that you ( Commissioner for Environment) personally called the police officers  who came for the arrest to release the woman; that the matter is not a police one, but a civil case which only your Ministry can handle.

Despite the refusal of the police to release the said woman and finally taking her to Umuahia ,my client was reliably informed that you instructed a lawyer from the Ministry of Justice in the person of Barr. Nwaejike who is attached to your office as ASEPA prosecutor to go to the police headquarters in Umuahia and inform the police again that the matter for which the woman was arrested is a matter within the jurisdiction of your office/Ministry to handle and that the police should hands off the matter”, the petition further reads.

The Church, however, expressed serious regret that despite stopping the police from looking into the its complaints , the Supervising Ministry of Environment has so far refused to wade in to save the lives of over two thousands of its worshipers.

“Sir, despite the fact that you informed the police that the matter is within your jurisdiction to handle ,and in addition, sent a State Counsel to formally bring that to the notice of the Police, you and your office have not done anything whatsoever towards addressing the complaint rather my client on weekly basis see your officers from the Environmental Health at Aba North led by one Uzoma Nwaejike has turned the said poultry farm into a cash cow ,where they visit on Weekly basis to collect money/inducement and thereby closing their eyes to the very danger posed to the health of members of the general public and my client members in particular”, E . J  Obi the Church’s Counsel stated in the petition.

The Christian organization in its petition regretted that the Abia state Environment Ministry and its officials have abdicated their responsibility of protecting public health ,through a safe environment.

Consequently,the Church has called on the Abia state Government ,and other relevant bodies to ensure the relocation of the said poultry farm out of the its vicinity ,a  densely populated residential area.

However, the Christian Ministry has vowed to resort to a legal action to protect over two thousand of its worshipers should the appropriate authorities fail to take action within a reasonable period.

As at the time of reporting, both the Commissioner for Information and Operators of the said poultry outlet could not be reached for comments.

An earlier visit to, and media briefing with the Commissioner at the  Church premises on. Tuesday March 18, 2025, could not hold. A rescheduled visit for Wednesday March 19, was also aborted.

No reasons were adduced for the halting of what was supposed to be a trouble-shooting effort by the Commissioner.

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