*As Paul University Law Graduates Face Nigerian Law School Admission Hurdle Despite Full NUC Accreditation
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The Anambra State Police Command has intervened in the leadership crisis within the Anglican Diocese of Awka, bringing the parties together for a meeting and warning them against inflammatory statements or actions capable of undermining ongoing efforts to resolve the dispute.
The intervention comes amid a pending court case challenging the compulsory leave imposed on the Bishop of Awka and Archbishop of the Province of the Niger, Most Rev. Alexander Chibuzo Ibezim, as well as a threat by the Awka Diocesan Board that the Diocese could withdraw from the Church of Nigeria if the dispute remains unresolved.
In a statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer, Tochukwu Ikenga, the Command said the parties attended the meeting at the instance of the Commissioner of Police, Nnanna Oji Ama.
According to the statement, the Commissioner acknowledged that the issues in dispute were already before a court and stressed the need for all parties to respect the judicial process.
He urged them to pursue peaceful dialogue and explore appropriate channels within the established ecclesiastical hierarchy of the Church without prejudice to the pending litigation.
The Commissioner also warned against drawing parishioners and worshippers into the leadership dispute.
He stressed that worshippers “must not be drawn into the disagreement or made to suffer the consequences of differences among church leaders” and called for restraint, mutual respect and maturity in the interest of peace, unity and the sanctity of worship.
The police further cautioned against “inflammatory statements, confrontational conduct, and any action capable of escalating tensions or threatening public peace.”
The Command warned that it would not hesitate to take lawful measures to prevent any breach of law and order and assured that it would continue to maintain peace and protect lives and property within the Diocese.
The crisis escalated on October 13, 2026, when the Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Most Rev. Henry Ndukuba, directed Archbishop Ibezim to proceed on six months’ compulsory leave while allegations and other developments within the Diocese were investigated.
The directive barred Ibezim from officiating during the period and appointed the Bishop of Aguata, Rt. Rev. Samuel Ezeofor, to supervise the Diocese and coordinate the Province.
The Primate described the measure as administrative rather than disciplinary and said it followed the work of administrative panels, including a visitation team led by the Dean of the Church of Nigeria.
Archbishop Ibezim has since challenged the action before the High Court of Anambra State in Suit No. A/371/2026.
In the suit, he is asking the court to interpret provisions of the Church of Nigeria’s 2020 Constitution and Canons relating to disciplinary proceedings against serving bishops.
He is also contending that the visitation team was improperly constituted and that the procedures prescribed by the Church’s Constitution and Canons must be followed before any disciplinary action can validly be taken against him.
Those contentions remain claims before the court, which has not made any final determination on their merits.
The Awka Diocesan Board has also rejected both the compulsory leave and the appointment of Bishop Ezeofor to supervise the Diocese.
The Board maintains that the Primate lacks the power to impose such a measure without following the procedures prescribed by the Church’s Constitution and Canons.
The dispute took a more serious turn when the Board warned that the Diocese could withdraw from the Church of Nigeria and continue its affiliation with the Church of England if the crisis persisted.
The Board has further argued that earlier panels had already submitted reports on issues within the Diocese, but that the findings were neither released nor presented to the appropriate church authorities.
It also maintains that those panels did not indict Archbishop Ibezim for financial misconduct.
The Primate’s directive, however, referred to the report of the visitation team and the need for further investigation.
The leadership dispute is also linked to allegations surrounding the sale of diocesan land.
In 2025, a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission accused Archbishop Ibezim of irregularities relating to land transactions and the handling of proceeds.
One report valued the affected parcels at more than ₦752 million and alleged that proceeds were paid into the Archbishop’s personal account.
Other reports referred to an alleged unauthorised land sale valued at about ₦2 billion.
The figures emerged from separate reports and have not been judicially established as representing a single transaction or confirmed loss.
In September 2025, the High Court of Anambra State granted an interim order restraining the EFCC from arresting the Archbishop.
The interim order was time-limited and did not amount to a finding that the allegations were false or that the disputed transactions were lawful.
The Awka Diocesan Board has rejected the allegations, maintaining that its land-sale policy was approved through synod resolutions.
It said the diocesan treasurer and financial secretary had testified that proceeds from the transactions were paid into diocesan accounts and described the petition as baseless and politically motivated.
Another dimension of the dispute arose when the Diocesan Chancellor, B.E.I. Nwofor, SAN, demanded ₦5 billion in damages from Bishop Ezeofor over his alleged removal from office.
The ₦5 billion remains a demand and not a judgment or award by any court.
A separate controversy has also emerged around Paul University, Awka, an institution established by the Church of Nigeria and now owned by the Awka Diocese.
An adjunct member of staff, who requested anonymity, alleged that the Faculty of Law had graduated its first set of students but that they could not proceed to the Nigerian Law School because the programme lacked approval from the Council of Legal Education.
The source also alleged that the issue formed part of a wider problem at the institution but declined to put additional allegations in writing.
Those further allegations are therefore not included.
The regulatory position, however, shows a distinction between accreditation by the National Universities Commission and approval by the Council of Legal Education for eligibility to proceed to the Nigerian Law School.
In January 2026, the Council of Legal Education announced a two-year moratorium on Paul University, Awka, and two other universities for commencing law programmes without prior approval.
The Council said the sanction followed breaches of established regulatory procedures.
In March 2026, it published a list of universities authorised to admit students into Bachelor of Laws programmes and warned that students admitted into law programmes without its approval would not be eligible for admission into the Nigerian Law School.
Paul University was among the institutions affected by the Council’s decision.
At the same time, the National Universities Commission’s published record shows that Paul University’s LL.B programme received full NUC accreditation following a visitation conducted on November 30, 2024, with a score of 82.35 per cent.
The university has also publicly listed the accreditation of its law programme among its achievements.
In an interview published in February 2026, the Acting Vice-Chancellor, Venerable Professor Obiora Nwosu, stated that the institution had full accreditation for law.
The distinction, however, remains that NUC accreditation of an academic programme is separate from the Council of Legal Education’s approval governing admission of law graduates to the Nigerian Law School.
Professor Nwosu has also previously acknowledged the university’s history of financial difficulties, including years of salary arrears, and described the transfer of ownership to the Awka Diocese as part of efforts to restore the institution.
With the police now intervening, the immediate focus has shifted to preventing the ecclesiastical dispute from escalating into a public-order crisis while the pending suit is determined and the Church explores internal mechanisms for resolving the disagreement.
The Police Command has maintained that both sides must avoid inflammatory rhetoric, respect the ongoing judicial process and ensure that parishioners are not made victims of a dispute among church leaders.
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