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Ten days after the Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice D.O. Okorowo ordered the unconditional release from police custody of a bank manager with Polaris Bank, Mr. Chinenye Hezekiah Duru, the police have continued to detain the banker in their custody.
Ruling on January 5, in a case filed by the Applicant’s counsel, Chukwuemeka Uduma Kanu Esq., Justice Okorowo had ordered that Duru, who has been in custody since early December 2023, be released, pending the determination of the originating summons.
Duru has been having a running battle with his erstwhile spiritual leader, Most Rev. Prof. Onukogu Victor Hezekiah, popularly known as Daddy Hezekiah, Head, Living Christ Mission Church, with headquarters in Onitsha, Anambra State. The banker had served his spiritual leader as his financial adviser and accounts officer.
Trouble between the two men reportedly started when the banker, who was also a top shot of the Living Christ Mission, and some other people decided to leave the church, after expressing discomfort at some unethical developments around the religious group.
In reaction to the development, Daddy Hezekiah, was said to have turned on Duru and accused him of owing him billions of naira. The bishop reported the banker to the police. The matter is now in the court.
The Magistrates’ Court in Masaka, Nasarawa State had, on December 11, 2023, ordered the detention of Duru. But, on December 21, 2023, the court admitted him on bail. The Federal Court in Abuja, under Justice D.O. Okorowo, equally ordered the release from custody of Duru. The order has, however, not been obeyed.
Meanwhile, relations of Duru are complaining that while the matter is in the court, the followers of Daddy Hezekiah are all over the Facebook and the internet, tarnishing the image of the banker, without telling the public the sordid affairs inside the Living Christ Mission, which Duru and some others criticised.
