UMCN Crisis Deepens As Immigration Detains Zimbabwean Bishop In Nigeria

A Zimbabwean Bishop of the United Methodist Church (UMC), Eben Nhiwatiwa, has been unlawfully detained by Nigerian Immigration authorities, despite possessing all required documents, a church member said.

Bishop Nhiwatiwa, who arrived in Nigeria on August 21, 2024, to meet with UMC members and facilitate the election of a new Nigerian Bishop, was detained in Yola, Adamawa State, and subsequently transferred to Abuja.

According to reports, the detention is linked to internal disputes within the UMC in Nigeria. The former Bishop, John Wesley Yohanna, who resigned to join the Global Methodist Church (GMC), is alleged to have orchestrated the detention to hinder the election process and consolidate his control over the Church's assets.

Former Bishop Yohanna has been accused of converting UMC properties to GMC, leading to widespread protests and legal battles. 

Trobule started when Bishop Nhiwatiwa  arrived Yola Town, Adamawa state venue for the first meeting with the members of the Southern Nigerian Annual Conference of the United Methodist church in Nigeria but was on Friday 23 August 2024, whisked away at the venue of the meeting by the Nigerian Immigration officers Adamawa state Command for questioning.

After several hours of detention in the Yola Immigration office, Bishop Nhiwatiwa was later confined to his hotel with immigration officials guarding him before being taken to Abuja on Saturday 24 August  to the Immigration Headquarters in Abuja Nigeria's capital where he is currently detained.

A Journalist and member of the UMCN Salisu Waziri assigned by the Church leadership to receive the Bishop at the Abuja Airport and accompanied him to the Immigration headquarters in Abuja said Bishop  Nhiwatiwa who was denied access to his drugs and luggage from Yola Immigration Office, was later checked into the Immigration headquarters guest house to wait for further directives.

He quoted an Immigration Officer  that the Yola Immigration office had interrogated Bishop Nhiwatiwa and found nothing wrong with his documents but wanders why they will have to send him back to Abuja for further questioning.

" At the Immigration office in Yola since yesterday we have interrogated this Bishop and all his papers are intact I wander why they will have to send him back to the Immigration headquarters in Abuja for further questioning.

"His visa was processed here in Abuja I think if there is anything wrong with his documents just a call from Yola to Abuja would have clarified the issue, well, I know something is wrong at the top, because I learnt that the other faction of the Church went to the Immigration headquarters in Abuja to file a complain against the Bishop and is likely they are the ones that paid for our flight tickets 260,000, 130,000 each, I was just seating relaxing and my boss said I will be going to Abuja with Bishop and here we are" he said.

Salisu Waziri who accompanied the immigration officer and the Bishop to the headquarters of the Nigerian immigration office in Abuja at about 8pm reported that there were no senior immigration officials to attend to the immigration officer from Yola and the Bishop as all offices were locked only few Immigration security officers were seen at their duty post.

He also noted that a Zimbabwean National official has so far reached out to the Zimbabwean Embassy in Nigeria to begin diplomatic talks on the issue.