An Anglican priest, Reverend Tochukwu Agina, has accused naval personnel of torturing him at a checkpoint in Okpotouno, Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State, after falsely alleging that he was making a phone call.
Agina, who appeared before journalists on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, with a bandage wrapped around his head, said the incident happened at about 5p.m. on Sunday, November 30, while he was travelling in a commercial vehicle along Atani Road.
According to him, a naval rating first confronted him after seeing a phone in his hand and demanded to inspect it to determine whether he had taken pictures of the checkpoint.
Agina said he handed over the phone and showed that no call or photo had been made, but the officers insisted he step out of the vehicle.
“I was explaining myself to their intelligence officer when another soldier came out and pushed me,” he recounted.
“I told him not to touch me. The next thing he did was to seek permission from his superior, and when he got it, he started brutalising me.
“He slapped me, beat me with sticks, hit my scrotum and my legs, poured water mixed with soap on me, and then struck my head.”
The priest said his clothes were torn and blood-soaked during the assault, which he described as a violation of his fundamental rights and a breach of the military’s code of conduct.
He added that the church hierarchy had been fully briefed about the incident.
Reacting to the development, the Anglican Bishop of Ogbaru Diocese, Rt. Rev. Prosper Amah, condemned the alleged assault and called on the Chief of Naval Staff to order a thorough investigation.
In a petition dated December 2, the bishop said eyewitness accounts and the priest’s testimony corroborated that Agina was not on a call at the time he was stopped. He insisted that the officers acted on a false allegation and subjected the clergyman to degrading treatment.
The Diocese urged the Navy authorities to identify the personnel involved and ensure accountability to prevent future abuses at military checkpoints.
