By MOHAMMED ABDULKABIR

The Legal Aid Counsel of Nigeria (LACON), a government-established body that provides free legal services to indigent citizens, has petitioned the Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, His Eminence, Dr. Oliver Ali Abah, over the activities of the Bishop of the Diocese of Atamunu and the Conference of the Methodist Church of Nigeria. In a strongly-worded statement signed by its Director-General, Barrister Ituen Ukpono, LACON decried the "inhumane" treatment meted out to a junior fellow of the said Bishop, Reverend Victor Okon Uloh.

In the petition, titled "PETITION AGAINST UNFAIR AND INHUMANE TREATMENT, VERBAL ABUSE, PHYSICAL ASSAULT, PERSECUTION, WITHHOLDING OF STIPENDS, AND UNLAWFUL SUSPENSION BY RT. REV. BARR. OTUEKONG A. UKUT, PHD, BISHOP OF THE DIOCESE OF ATAMUNU AND THE CONFERENCE OF METHODIST CHURCH NIGERIA", LACON alleged that Bishop (Dr.) Ukut cancelled Reverend Victor Ulor's induction ceremony originally scheduled to be held on 1st October 2022. The induction, which was said to have been properly approved by the Church's hierarchy, aimed to commemorate the Reverend's posting to MPS 80 Edim Otop Street (now Methodist Church Atimbo Road, Charles Wesley Circuit).

They also alleged that Bishop Ukut frustrated Uloh's scholarship to pursue academic studies in Medicine and Surgery, initially granted to him by the 2023 Diocesan Synod.

Among other allegations, LACON alleged that Bishop (Dr.) Ukut had subjected the Reverend to an "untold hardship" by giving him N150,000 after months of no accommodation following his posting.

However, LACON has demanded "an immediate restoration and payment of all withheld stipends, allowances, and entitlements from April 2025 till date."

They have also called for a formal reversal of the suspension imposed on Reverend Victor Ulor, while asking for "an immediate reinstatement of his ecclesiastical rights and privileges."

The legal assistance group has also demanded a stop to all forms of abuses meted out to Reverend Ulor, asking for a payment of Fifty Million Naira as damages on the abuse "inflicted upon" the personality of the Reverend.

However, LACON has threatened to invoke appropriate legal proceedings should the leadership of the Methodist Church fail to address the matter.

LACON has urged "the leadership of the Methodist Church Nigeria to allow wisdom, fairness, and the true spirit of Christ to prevail, rather than exposing the Church to the rigours, publicity, and costs of avoidable litigation."

The full text of the petition is published below:

The Prelate

Methodist Church Nigeria

Wesley House, 21/22 Marina,

Lagos State.

PETITION AGAINST UNFAIR AND INHUMANE TREATMENT, VERBAL ABUSE, PHYSICAL ASSAULT, PERSECUTION, WITHHOLDING OF STIPENDS, AND UNLAWFUL SUSPENSION BY RT. REV. BARR. OTUEKONG A. UKUT, PHD, BISHOP OF THE DIOCESE OF ATAMUNU AND THE CONFERENCE OF METHODIST CHURCH NIGERIA.

We act as solicitors to The Reverend Victor Okon Uloh, a duly ordained priest of the Methodist Church Nigeria, who presently serves under the Diocese of Atamunu. Our client has placed before us very grave complaints against his ecclesiastical superior, the Rt. Rev. Barr. Otuekong Ukut, the current Bishop of the Diocese of Atamunu, and we are instructed to petition your esteemed office as follows:

1. That upon his posting to MPS 80 Edim Otop Street (now Methodist Church Atimbo Road, Charles Wesley Circuit) on 1st October 2022, our client?s induction service scheduled for 14th July 2024?which was properly approved, published in the church?s itinerary, and for which resources had been expended?was suddenly and arbitrarily cancelled by Bishop Ukut on 30th June 2024, without any genuine reason. This subjected our client to public ridicule and reputational embarrassment before the entire congregation, invited dignitaries, and the wider public.

2. That although the 2023 Diocesan Synod formally granted him permission to pursue further academic studies in Medicine and Surgery, the Bishop frustrated his efforts by denying him scholarship support without any explanation, thereby compounding his hardship.

3. That following his posting as Administrative Secretary to the Diocesan office on 1st October 2024, no accommodation was provided, and it was only after months of untold hardship that the Bishop belatedly gave him ?150,000.00, which was grossly inadequate for a married priest with a family. He was therefore compelled to return his wife and four children to the village under humiliating conditions.

4. That on several occasions, the said Bishop has subjected our client to verbal abuse, emotional harassment, and public humiliation unbecoming of the dignity of his episcopal office.

5. Most disturbingly, on the 25th of April 2025, during the opening session of the Synod at Charles Wesley Circuit, the Bishop subjected our client to public degradation by compelling him to kneel before the Ministerial Session of the Synod.

6. Worse still, in the course of that act to disordain our client, the Bishop physically assaulted him by forcefully wrenching off his priesthood chain (cross pendant) from his neck without consent, thereby causing abrasive neck injuries and psychological trauma. A medical report from the University of Calabar Medical Services (dated 30th April 2025) confirms that our client sustained severe myalgia, abrasions, and has since been treated for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) arising from the said assault. The broken pieces of the cross pendant stand as mute testimony to this assault on both his person and his priestly dignity.

7. On the 26th of April 2025, the Bishop further humiliated our client by announcing his removal from his posting and replacing him with another minister, allegedly on ?conference endorsement,? all without following established Methodist procedures.

8. Since April 2025 till date, our client?s monthly stipends and entitlements have been unlawfully withheld, thereby plunging him into extreme financial hardship despite his diligent service to the Church.

9. To further victimize him, the Conference of the Methodist Church Nigeria has now suspended him throughout the duration of his academic programme, effectively depriving him of his means of livelihood, his ecclesiastical dignity, and his fundamental right to education and self-development. This suspension was imposed without affording our client fair hearing or the benefit of proper adjudication by a formal investigative panel on the petition he lodged against the said Bishop. Such an action is inhumane, unconstitutional, and contrary to the principles of natural justice, fair hearing, and equity.

OUR DEMAND

In view of the above catalogue of persecution, abuse, assault, and economic strangulation, we hereby demand on behalf of our client as follows:

1. Immediate restoration and payment of all withheld stipends, allowances, and entitlements from April 2025 till date.

2. A formal reversal of the suspension imposed on our client throughout his academic programme, and immediate reinstatement of his ecclesiastical rights and privileges.

3. A clear directive restraining the Rt. Rev. Barr. Otuekong Ukut from further acts of verbal, emotional, psychological, or physical abuse against our client.

4. The payment of ?50,000,000 (Fifty Million Naira) as general damages for the physical injuries, psychological trauma, reputational damage, and economic losses inflicted upon our client.

TAKE NOTICE

That unless these demands are met within seven (7) days of receipt of this petition (inclusive of the date of service), we shall be left with no option than to commence appropriate legal proceedings before a competent court of law to ventilate our client?s grievances and enforce his rights.

We want to state here that the action of the said Bishop Otuekong Ukut is inimical to the tenets and rules of a great commission as yours. And as a Nigerian, our client deserves to be treated with dignity and respect and anything short of that is not accepted by our client.

We strongly urge the leadership of the Methodist Church Nigeria to allow wisdom, fairness, and the true spirit of Christ to prevail, rather than exposing the Church to the rigours, publicity, and costs of avoidable litigation.

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