by ‘Jola Sotubo

A Catholic priest in Imo is being investigated by police in the state after reports that he was illegally in possession of weapons.

The cleric is said to preside over a parish in the Dikenafai environs of the Ideato South Local Government area of the state.

The priest is believed to have threatened his parishioners and endangered their lives with three unlicensed guns believed to be in his possession.

Vanguard reports:

Crime Guard reliably gathered that the guns which include one pump action riffle, one double- barrelled gun and a locally -made pistol allegedly belonging to the priest were recovered from his official residence by operatives of Special Armed Robbery Squad, SARS, Imo State Police Command acting on a tip off from concerned parishioners.

Described as a very controversial priest, the reverend father was arrested and detained briefly but granted bail by the police following the intervention of some influential religious and political leaders in the state.

Police sources intimated that the controversy surrounding the catholic priest stemmed from a tragedy that occurred in January 2010 , after the death of a prominent indigene of the area. The resident priest was said to had raised issues over the burial ceremony which inflamed the natives and they had to lodge formal complaints to the Bishop of the area over the way the priest was allegedly calling people names while conducting services.

According to the source, the matter became worse after armed robbers reportedly attacked the priest in his official residence and he openly accused some prominent citizens of the area of masterminding the robbery.

This, the source continued, made some of them to write a petition to the Commissioner of Police in Imo State accusing the priest of threatening their lives with dangerous weapons. The Police boss swiftly acted on the petition and sent detectives from the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, to the residence of the priest where some weapons were allegedly recovered.

Meanwhile, investigation into the case is ongoing by the police to ascertain the source of the guns and possibly the actual purposes they are being used for. It is believed that the matter will be charged to court after full police investigation had been concluded.