A 51-year-old pastor, Chukwuma Agu, was yesterday brought before an Enugu Magistrates’ Court for alleged destruction of property worth N1 million.
Agu, who hails from Enugu East Local Government Area, is facing a two count-charge bordering on unlawful occupation and damage to property.
Prosecuting Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Cajethan Ugwu said the complainant, Adolphus Obi, reported the matter to the Police Command in Enugu last August.
Ugwu said the complainant had in the report claimed that the land shielded by the broken fence belonged to him but was unlawfully occupied by the defendant and his church.
When the matter came up for hearing, Mr I. Enoch, the defence counsel, told the court that the defendant did not commit any crime against the complainant.
Enoch said the real name of the defendant was not found in the statement written by the complainant to warrant him being arraigned.
The defence counsel told the court that the defendant’s real name was Vincent Agu and not Jude Agu as the complainant claimed.
He stressed that the property alleged to have been destroyed was a fence wall broken by a community known as Umuchigbo Community.
Enoch said that the community demolished the complainant’s fence because he refused to adhere to the community’s instruction on land development.
He told the court that the fence was owned by Church of Resurrection, where the defendant worked as a pastor for some time.
The defence counsel further told the court that the police arrested the defendant because he was the one caught in the action of breaking the fence.
The Magistrate, Mr Dennis Ekoh, urged the defence counsel to always go straight to the point when cross-examining the complainant, and adjourned the matter till July 10 for continuation of hearing.
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