Blood on the altar: Remembering Akan Weeks’ Bishopric massacre

By Ofonime Honesty

[How Governor Udom Emmanuel (as he then was) openly rejected the Commission of Inquiry’s recommendations, and his “prayer warrior”, Akan Weeks, became a free man till date.]

I pen this piece with a broken heart. A heart of sorrow and lamentation. A heart which yearns for justice in an unjust society. I pour this out, not with the intent to trigger raw emotions, but to retell a sad tale for posterity’s sake.

December 10, 2016, began like every other day. It was a Saturday –the day before Sunday. That notwithstanding, somewhere in a city of Uyo located in Nigeria’s Southern region, a gargantuan church event was held. The Bishopric Enthronement of Bishop Akan Weeks of Reigners Bible Church was underway.

Prior to the day, the electronic media, newspapers, billboards and other means of mass communication were in hyping the event. Reigners Church members, on their part, did not relent – they marched the streets, dancing and distributing the event’s flyers.

The D-Day arrived, and guests came in from far and near. Governor Udom Emmanuel (as he then was), in a show of solidarity with Akan Weeks, who was his ‘prayer warrior’, led government officials to the event.

As attendees were engrossed in the Bishopric Enthronement orgasm, an undercover guest, the grim reaper, sneaked into town. The stealthy harvester went straight to Reigners Bible Church to fill his basket. He caught everyone napping.

The expansive roof and pillars of the uncompleted edifice caved in, snuffing lives out of many. The event ended abruptly. Blood soaked the altar. Reigners Bible Church aka City of Answers instantly became the City of Questions. Till today, those salient questions remain unanswered.

Dear reader, where were you on that fateful day? I was somewhere on Oron Road by Ibom Plaza ahead of a scheduled meetup with comrades from the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS). I discarded my day’s itinerary after sighting a speeding Hilux Van loaded with corpses. Blood was dripping from this. I was told by someone that a church had collapsed.
In the ensuing confusion, Wellington Bassey Way and Uyo Village Road suffered traffic gridlock.

Under ferocious rain, yours truly joined many to rush to the venue.
Jehovah, may my eyes never see a repeat of what I saw that day!
Mangled corpses littered the scene. Screams and cries rented the air.
Many volunteered to save lives.
However, a handful of police officers led by one loudmouthed female officer whose name I choose to leave out this piece, concentrated on seizing mobile phones and cameras.

I helped pull out a young lady from the rubble. She was gasping for breath. People fanned her intensely. I joined the fray by converting my book to a fan. Our efforts amounted to nothing as she gave up the ghost right before us, and was thrown into a waiting ambulance like a log of wood by medical personnel.

That was someone’s daughter. That was someone’s sister. That was a future mother. That was a future journalist, or lawyer, or medical doctor, or whatever.
All hopes ended just like that. Fathers lost their lives. Mothers too and even children. The youth died aplenty. They all died avoidable deaths.

Yes, their demise was avoidable. For a start, common sense should tell any person that it is risky to erect such gargantuan edifice in a swampy area.

Uyo Village Road is a ravine area washed by erosion, river and stream. In fact, the Church, a river and a stream are neighbours. I know the terrain like my name.

At the Commission of Inquiry set up by the State government, site workers narrated how the Uyo Capital City Development Agency (UCCDA) had inscribed ‘Stop Work’ severally on the building, only for the General Overseer Mr. Akan Weeks to allegedly bribe the agency with N100,000.

They also narrated how Mr. Weeks, in a bid to create additional space to accommodate guests at the event, allegedly ordered the removal of the central scaffold which the roof hitherto rested on.

We were also told by UCCDA that the state government did not provide funds, security and equipments for demolition of structures on Uyo Village Road.

The survivors have told us how they’ve been abandoned. Their situation notwithstanding, Weeks Lawyer, Ini Ekpo, did not mince words when he declared that his client is also a victim, and deserves to be compensated too.

On his part, Mr. Weeks dropped a bombshell by claiming that he was already consecrated a Bishop in 2015 by Assembly of Charismatic Bishops and that the December 10, 2016 event was merely an enthronement. The declaration came after he went live on Radio to tell everyone that he was no longer interested in becoming a Bishop.

The Judicial Commission of Inquiry led by Justice Umoekoyo Essang (Rtd.) affirmed that Apostle Akan Weeks was largely responsible for the senseless deaths.

The Commission indicted him for not obtaining requisite approvals before initiating the construction of the building.

It also found him culpable for deliberately interfering with the building structure in defiance of professional advice by removing some of the building’s components.

Further, the Commission also found that Weeks disregarded directives by the Uyo Capital City Development Authority (UCCDA) for him to stop work at the site.

Not done, the Commission also nailed Akan Weeks for his “impunity”, “lack of courtesy and humility.”

Lastly, the Commission recommended that the State Ministry of Justice should commence legal actions against Akan Weeks.

Guess what! Governor Udom Emmanuel (as he then was) openly rejected the Commission’s recommendations, and his “prayer warrior” became a free man till date.

Sometime in 2018, Senator Godswill Akpabio, now Nigeria’s Senate President, claimed that 350 human lives were lost.

His allegation contradicted the 28 and 29 casualties’ figures issued by the state government and the Akwa Ibom State Police Command.

Senator Akpabio’s claim seems to corroborate that of Prof. Etete Peters of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH), who told newsmen after the incident that, “we (UUTH) so far have over 200 persons in the mortuaries, it keeps rising, we no longer have space, as people are still being brought in.”

Almost everyone has moved on. Even Akan Weeks has established his church elsewhere, abandoning the blood-drenched edifice for wild animals to inhabit.

I can hear the departed crying for justice. Families that lost bread winners have been abandoned. I can hear Karma protesting vigorously to be allowed to wade in.

I need not flog the dead horse further but believe me, they won’t take any decisive action on the issue because while people’s children died, theirs were cocooned abroad in looted luxury.

I am not passing a verdict on Mr. Weeks and co., but at a time like this, every sane person should reflect on the December 10, 2016 mishap. It is too gory to be forgotten.
However, let no one be compelled to take any action. Any action has to be voluntary. Karma is an impartial judge, let’s await her judgment since other means of obtaining justice have been crippled by the powers that-be.

(Ofonime Honesty writes from Awka, Anambra State. +2348023314809)

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