•warns police to refrain from taking sides




Some aggrieved pastors and laity in The United Methodist Church of Nigeria (UMCN) have accused men of the Nigerian police force, Taraba state command of taking sides with Bishop John Yohanna Wesley. The group also called on the Taraba State Police Command to refrain from taking sides in the Church’s current crisis.


The group, which converged on Thursday under the auspices of the United Methodist Church from the four anual conferences in Nigeria, expressed dismay at the manner and manner in which the state police continued to take sides. for the bishop of the church (John Wesley Yohanna).


Informing reporters of the negative effects of the crisis on the church, the group said “we are asking the police commissioner of the Taraba state command to call his men to order”, urging him to refrain. to “take sides with the bishop in order to mistreat pastors and lay people in the state.


Led by Rev. Musa Lana, the group also called on the College of Bishops of West Africa to take swift action “on the complaints brought before it by the clergy and laity of the church.”


Vowing never to be intimidated by the bishop, they urged church leaders to travel additional legitimate miles by holding the bishop to account for all “the money he received.” “


The bishop, Lana said, should also be urged to “stop using the police to harass and intimidate us for legitimately claiming our collective resources which were entrusted to him for the benefit of the church and which were misappropriated by him”.


Questioning why the bishop went so far as to drag pastors and laity to the police station and the courts, they lamented that “he did not provide oversight responses as required by the constitution of the church.


He stated that “Yohanna did not account for more than $ 500,000.00 USD is over N 230,000,000.00 paid by the General Council of Finance and Administration (GCFA). “


While calling on all pastors and laity in the church to remain “calm as we pursue our constitutional rights as law-abiding citizens of this country and members of The United Methodist Church in Nigeria,” the group reiterated its will and determination not to fold. waiting when justice finally prevails in the church.


The upheaval in the church that our correspondent noticed was sparked by leadership struggles among others, was also observed to have led to divisions among the membership.