Awka Anglican Diocese Threatens to Withdraw From Church of Nigeria Following Archbishop Ibezim's Compulsory Leave

The Diocesan Board of the Anglican Diocese of Awka has threatened to sever ties with the Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion and align instead with the Church of England if the Primate and Bishop Samuel C. Ezeofor persist in actions the Board regards as threats to the diocese’s peace and unlawful interference in its affairs.

The warning came in a communiqué issued after an emergency meeting of the Board on Friday, 16 October 2026, at the Chapel of Divine Favour, Archbishop’s Palace, Ifite Awka. The Board emphatically rejected a letter dated 13 October 2026 from the Primate of the Church of Nigeria, the Most Revd Henry C. Ndukuba, which directed Archbishop Alexander C. Ibezim, PhD, to proceed on six months’ compulsory leave. It also rejected the Primate’s appointment of the Rt Revd Samuel C. Ezeofor as Supervising Bishop of Awka Diocese and Coordinating Bishop of the Province of the Niger.

The Board declared that it “emphatically rejects in its entirety the said letter,” describing both the compulsory-leave order and Ezeofor’s appointment as unconstitutional, illegal, unlawful and unjust. It maintained that neither the Constitution and Canons of the Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion 2020 nor the Constitution and Regulation of the Diocese of Awka 2023 empowers the Primate to place a bishop on compulsory leave or install a supervising bishop in this manner. The actions, the Board said, also violate the constitutional presumption of innocence under Section 36(5) and the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion under Section 38(1) of the Nigerian Constitution.

Recall that Archbishop Ibezim had on October 13th, filed a suit at the High Court of Anambra State seeking to restrain the Primate from issuing any letter of suspension or any further correspondence that would truncate his continuity in office as Archbishop of the Province of the Niger and Bishop of Awka Diocese. That suit forms part of a series of pending litigations, including Suit No. A/Misc 446/2025 to wit Ibezim vs EFCC, filed 4 September 2025 and Suit No. A/Misc. 494/2026 to wit Ibezim vs Inspector-General of Police and others, filed 2 October 2026. All remain before the Anambra State High Court and concern allegations levelled against the Archbishop.

The Board emphasised that the Primate, Bishop Ezeofor and others are fully aware of these cases, which are sub judice, and are therefore “duty bound in law to refrain from doing anything whatsoever to interfere with the subject matters of the suits until the determination of the cases by the court.” It further cited subsisting High Court injunctions issued on 9 September 2025 and renewed on 14 October 2025 restraining the EFCC and others in relation to the same allegations.

The communiqué also accused the Primate of withholding reports from two earlier panels of inquiry he had constituted to investigate the allegations, one in August 2025 headed by Honourable Justice Babashola Ogunade and another in June 2026 headed by Archbishop Blessing Enyindah, thereby violating canonical requirements that such findings be submitted to the Episcopal Synod.

In clear terms, the Board affirmed that Archbishop Ibezim remains the legitimate Bishop of Awka Diocese and Archbishop of the Province of the Niger and should continue to discharge the duties of his office without hindrance. It expressed total confidence in his honesty, integrity, competence and devotion to duty, described the diocese as peaceful, united and progressive, and stated that no diocesan funds had been missing, stolen, misused or misappropriated by him. Even the panels set up by the Primate, the Board noted, had not disclosed any indictment of financial misdeed.

The Board commended Archbishop Ibezim for infrastructural developments across the diocese and urged him to continue his work without distraction. It issued a direct warning to Bishop Ezeofor against any interference in the affairs of Awka Diocese and directed all organs of the diocese to remain loyal to Archbishop Ibezim, rejecting any directives emanating from Ezeofor. The Board further threatened to invoke the law and the assistance of law-enforcement agencies should the warning be ignored.

In its strongest resolution, the Board stated that if the Primate and Bishop Ezeofor continue to threaten the peace of the diocese and unlawfully interfere in its affairs, “it shall withdraw from the Church of Nigeria and continue with Church of England which never disturbed the Diocese.” Read full communiqué below:

The communiqué was signed by Sir B.E.I. Nwofor, SAN (Lord Chancellor), Ven. K.E.N. Chukwukamma, PhD (Synod Secretary), and Mr Eugene Chukwudi Okonkwo (Lay Synod Secretary), and dated 16 October 2026 at Awka.

This is a developing story. Further updates will be provided as more information becomes available.

ENB.

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