For a long time, I decided not to write about Tansian University. I wanted to stay away from the controversy and tension surrounding the institution. However, recent events and false public claims have made silence impossible for me.
I believe strongly in speaking the truth, even when it is uncomfortable. That is why I feel it is necessary to address the latest allegations and the deeper crisis affecting the university.
The recent claim that a Catholic priest raped a student at the university’s Oba campus is false. No rape took place.
The priest at the centre of the allegation is Very Rev Fr Prof Bonaventure Anetoh, the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration) of the university. What happened has been widely misunderstood and wrongly presented to the public.
I personally know Fr Prof Anetoh as an astute academic, a disciplined administrator, and a gentle, fatherly priest who has devoted years to teaching, mentoring students, and promoting academic excellence with humility, wisdom, and deep commitment to the moral and spiritual values of Catholic education.
To understand the present situation, it is important to look at the long and bitter struggle that began after the death of the founder of the university, Very Rev Msgr Prof John Bosco Akam, in 2021.
Msgr Akam was more than the founder of a university. He was a respected Catholic priest and educationist who devoted much of his life to building institutions that would serve society. After his death, many expected the Catholic Church to take clear control of his properties and institutions. But the late Msgr Akam left behind a Will before his death. That Will named executors whose responsibility is to administer his estate and carry out his final wishes according to the law. (The executors named in the Will included Late Barr. B. S. Nwankwo (SAN), Prof Godwin Akam, and Late Mr Chimezie Akam). Until now, much of the confusion, tension, and litigation surrounding the university appears connected to disagreements over authority, ownership, and succession after his passing.
The serious disagreements emerged among individuals connected to the Missionary Sons of Blessed Tansi (MST), the religious congregation founded by the late cleric.
One faction claimed to be the legitimate continuation of the congregation founded by Msgr Akam, while another insisted that the authentic and recognised congregation already existed under the Diocese of Ijebu Ode in Ogun State.
This disagreement became the foundation of the larger crisis now consuming the university.
All efforts made by His Eminence, Peter Cardinal Okpaleke, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Ekwulobia, to resolve the disagreements reportedly failed. In the end, he quietly distanced himself from issues relating to Msgr Akam’s Last Will and matters connected to the late cleric’s properties and institutions. These include Tansian University, Königin des Friedens College Enugu and Uga, Voice of the Poor Foundation Home for Physically Challenged Persons, Villa Misericordia Dei, and the Akam Scholarship Foundation.
Rev Fr Edwin Obiora, who was Msgr Akam lawyer – by contingency – became one of the major figures in the conflict. Acting on behalf of one faction, he reportedly initiated legal actions against the opposing group, and those legal disputes remain unresolved.
What I find particularly troubling is that, after the death of Msgr Akam, apparently in an attempt to secure control of the university through a new legal structure, Fr Obiora and his cohort quickly went to Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and registered Tansian University Umunya Ltd by Guarantee with constituted board members to oversee the affairs of Tansian University.
The original licensing and foundation of the university clearly showed that it was created as a non-profit institution. Because in 2002, Msgr Akam registered Tansian University Onitsha/Umunya Ltd by Guarantee but during the licensing process, the then Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof Peter Okebukola, explained that private university licences were not granted to limited or public liability companies but to non-profit organisations. At that point, Msgr Akam presented the Missionary Servants of the Church (MST), later known as the Missionary Sons of Blessed Tansi, as the body behind the university. After all the necessary requirements were met, the NUC granted both the Provisional Licence and the Operational Licence to the Missionary Servants of the Church (MST) as the proprietor of the university.
For this reason, it is believed that attempts to change the ownership structure after the founder’s death go against both the spirit and intention of the original arrangement.
The crisis worsened when members of the same religious group he was defending reportedly became unhappy with Fr Obiora’s actions and his alleged claims concerning control and ownership of the university. Eventually, he was removed from his position as legal adviser and as the University Chancellor by those he once represented. What followed was counter publication by the university sacking all members of the congregation who were staff of the university. Consequently, he ordered members of the congregation living within the university premises to vacate their accommodation. They refused. Tension increased when Rev Fr. Edwin Obiorah (Chancellor); Mr. Innocent Ukeh (Registrar) and other principal staff of the university led labourers and unknown security personnel allegedly arrived to remove burglary protections from the residence occupied by the religious brothers.
The situation quickly turned chaotic. Anambra security, Operation Udo Ga-Achi reportedly intervened to prevent violence and restore calm.
It was during this confusion that the false allegation against Fr Anetoh emerged. The priest was trying to escape the disorder when he ran towards the female hostel area. Some students reportedly reacted by dragging him out of the building, and rumours immediately began to spread online.
I repeat clearly: there was no rape or attempted rape of any student.
Sadly, the crisis at Tansian University has now gone far beyond internal disagreement. It has damaged the image of an institution built through years of sacrifice and commitment. It has also exposed deep divisions within groups that once worked together under the vision of the late Msgr Akam.
At a time when trust in institutions is already weak, it is important that truth, fairness, and justice remain at the centre of public discussion.
In my opinion, one of the simplest ways to begin resolving the crisis at Tansian University is for Rev Fr Edwin Obiora and all parties involved to allow the surviving executor(s) of the late Very Rev Msgr Prof John Bosco Akam’s Last Will and Testament to carry out their lawful duties without interference.
From both civil law and Catholic legal tradition, the mother church recognises that clerics can make lawful Wills concerning their personal property and institutions connected to their intentions.
A valid Will is not something that should simply be ignored because of internal disagreements or power struggles.
Even Catholic canon law recognises the importance of respecting lawful Wills and pious intentions. Canon 1300 of the Code of Canon Law states clearly that legitimately accepted Wills made for pious causes “are to be fulfilled most diligently.” Canon 1301 further explains that the Church authority, referred to as the “ordinary,” has the responsibility to supervise and ensure that such Wills are properly executed.
Therefore, if there is any Catholic priestly law, diocesan regulation, or canon law principle that prevents the execution of Msgr Akam’s Last Will and Testament, I believe the Catholic Diocese of Ekwulobia — which was the late priest’s last diocese — should openly state it clearly before the public and the faithful.
Silence and ambiguity only deepen suspicion and division.
If the Church believes the Will cannot legally or canonically stand, then it should explain the exact canon law provisions involved. But if there is no such prohibition, then fairness and justice demand that the surviving executor(s) be allowed to perform the responsibility entrusted to them by the late Msgr Akam himself.
To me, this matter is bigger than personalities or factions. It concerns respect for the wishes of a dead priest, respect for lawful process, and respect for the institution he spent his life building.
- Chidipeters Okorie is a media and public relations professional who served as Special Assistant to the late Very Rev Msgr Prof John Bosco Akam and also worked as the Head of Public Relations of Tansian University for one and a half decades. He worked closely with the university founder, gaining firsthand knowledge of the institution’s development, administration, and guiding principles
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