A 28-year-old motor mechanic in Nnewi, Anambra State, Mr Ifeanyi Ujah, recently caused a stir as he set ablaze an idol called Ogwugwu Mmili planted in his workshop and said to have been brought from Okija.

Ujah was said to have initially reported the matter to Canaanland Adoration Ministries a.k.a E-Dey Work Catholic Centre in Nnobi, Idemili South Local Government Area of the state and on the instruction of the Spiritual Director of the adoration centre, Rev Fr Magnus Ebere SDV, he set the fetish object ablaze.

Trouble started when a young man from the Okija area, through a friend approached Ujah, indicating his interest to buy a car since Ujah, as a motor mechanic would be in the position to make a good choice for him.

Ujah said he took the prospective car buyer to one of his customers, who had earlier told him (Ujah) that he wanted to sell one of his cars. Ujah said the buyer and seller in his presence agreed at N300,000 price for the car, a Toyota Carina 2.

But, according to the motor mechanic, the buyer promised to pay N100,000 installment through Ujah with a promise to pay the balance later and take delivery of the car.

The mechanic said after some weeks the buyer paid in N100,000 to him but could not pay up the balance, noting that a few weeks later, the prospective car buyer came to demand a refund of the N100,000, which he had already given to the owner of the car.

He said the N100,000 refund was not immediately available as the car owner had used the money and pleaded for some time either to resell the car to refund or source money from his business. Ujah said the car buyer, rather than show understanding, threatened to deal with him decisively as the intermediary who he (the buyer) said was responsible for the refund of the money.

“The next thing the man (the car buyer) did was to bring a native doctor, who called himself Onapulu dike mma (one who can disarm the brave) to my workshop and all of us went to the car seller who repeated his plea as he did not have enough cash for immediate refund. They left but few days later, the car buyer stealthily brought alusi (idol) from Ogwugwu Mmili shrine and dropped it at my workshop with a telephone number of the chief priest to whom he directed me to pay the N100,000 from the car seller,” Ujah narrated. He said he consulted Rev Fr Ebere, popularly known as E-Dey Work in Anambra and beyond, who told him to burn the idol without exercising any fear, which he did after taking a photograph of the object.

Ujah said he took the photograph to the adoration ministry and showed the picture to the Blessed Sacrament during ministration at the church. He said he did that three times and then called the chief priest there in the church who answered once and cut off the phone. He said all attempts to get him again on phone failed. He explained that the car buyer later sent him another phone number to whom he directed him to refund the N100,000 as the car seller later refunded the money.