Why Osazee David resigned as chairman, Uniben’s Cult Renunciation, Reconciliation, Reformation, Committee

 

The Venerable Egbenusi Osazee David of All Saints’ Chapel Vicarage, University of Benin, Ugbowo, Benin City, has explained why he resigned as the chairman of the University of Benin’s Cult Renunciation, Reconciliation, Reformation, Rehabilitation, and Interfaith Committee (CR4IC).

In his letter dated 10^th May, 2026, he wrote: “Since my appointment as Chairman of the CR4IC, I have submitted proposals aimed at advancing the committee’s mandate of curbing cultism, promoting reconciliation, and restoring peace within this institution. To date, those proposals have not received the institutional response or implementation necessary for the committee to function with any meaningful effect. A committee whose considered recommendations are consistently left unaddressed ceases to be an instrument of change and risks becoming a veneer of institutional seriousness in the face of a menace that demands genuine action. I am not prepared to occupy that position.”

The above and the other reasons are contained in his letter of resignation, published in full below:

 

THE VENERABLE EGBENUSI OSAZEE DAVID
ALL SAINTS’ CHAPEL VICARAGE,
UNIVERSITY OF BENIN, UGBOWO, BENIN CITY.

May 10, 2026

The Vice Chancellor
University of Benin
Benin City.

Dear Sir,

LETTER OF RESIGNATION AS CHAIRMAN OF THE CULT RENUNCIATION, RECONCILIATION, REFORMATION, REHABILITATION AND INTERFAITH COMMITTEE (CR4IC)

I write with due respect to your office to formally tender my resignation as Chairman of the Cult Renunciation, Reconciliation, Reformation, Rehabilitation and Inter-Faith Committee (CR4IC), with immediate effect. This decision has not been made lightly, but it has been made firmly. The reasons for this decision are stated below with the candour and clarity that their gravity demands.

1. THE UNRESPONSIVE CONTEXT OF THE COMMITTEE’S WORK

Since my appointment as Chairman of the CR4IC, I have submitted proposals aimed at advancing the committee’s mandate of curbing cultism, promoting reconciliation, and restoring peace within this institution. To date, those proposals have not received the institutional response or implementation necessary for the committee to function with any meaningful effect. A committee whose considered recommendations are consistently left unaddressed ceases to be an instrument of change and risks becoming a veneer of institutional seriousness in the face of a menace that demands genuine action. I am not prepared to occupy that position.

1. THE EVENTS OF THIS EVENING AND THE CONDUCT THAT FOLLOWED

The immediate circumstances of this resignation must be stated for the record with precision.

Earlier today, I received a clip related to suspected cult activity on this campus. Acting in the spirit of my committee mandate and in the interest of the safety of this institution’s community, I forwarded it to You Sir, with the message: “Good afternoon, dear VC. I just got this clip. I supposed it may be useful for your decisions and necessary action.”

Approximately two hours later, I became aware of sporadic gunshots in the vicinity of the Chapel Vicarage on campus. Shortly thereafter, I received two further clips showing a violent cult confrontation in which a person was killed in front of the school gate (along the express

road). Once again, acting entirely in good faith and in fulfilment of my duty as Chairman of the CRAIC, I immediately forwarded those clips to You Sir.

Within minutes, you telephoned me. The nature of that call was not commensurate with the gravity of the security situation I had brought to your attention. You called furiously, demanding that I delete the clips I had transmitted, clips that constitute a contemporaneous record of a violent incident in which a human life was lost.

You issued a countdown ultimatum, beginning at five minutes, which you then reduced to three minutes, and then to two, within which you required me to delete the materials. You threatened to report me to the head of the Anglican Communion should I fail to comply. You threatened to deploy university security personnel to remove me from the Chapel Vicarage. You invited me to “dare” you as the Vice Chancellor.

I wish to state, plainly and without ill will, that these actions were unwarranted, disproportionate, and inconsistent with the expected cordiality and dignity of our offices. They constituted a direct assault on the office of the University Chaplain; an office with its own integrity, its own ecclesiastical standing, and its own pastoral mandate that does not derive from, and therefore cannot be diminished by, administrative threat or intimidation. They also constituted a personal affront directed at a priest of God who acted in good faith, in duty, and in the interest of this institution and its members.

I must also state, with the utmost seriousness, that I have not deleted the said clips and shall not do so. A human life was lost this evening, Whatever legal, investigative, or disciplinary processes that loss may properly trigger, within this institution or beyond it, require that evidence be preserved, not destroyed at the telephonic instruction of an administrator.

3. THE INTEGRITY OF THE CHAPLAIN’S OFFICE

The Chaplaincy of All Saints’ Chapel is not a department of the Vice Chancellor’s office. A university chaplain does not serve at the administrative pleasure of a Vice Chancellor in matters of conscience, pastoral duty, or prophetic witness. The threats made this evening, including, notably, the threat to contact the Anglican Communion’s leadership, reveal a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of chaplaincy and of the ecclesiastical authority by which it is governed.

The head of the Anglican Communion to whom you threatened to refer this matter is, in point of fact, my ecclesiastical superior and not yours. I have accordingly ensured that my Bishop is made aware of the events of this evening, so that the church is properly informed, before any other representation reaches it, of the context and conduct that necessitate this communication.

1. RESIGNATION AND CONTINUED WITNESS

For the foregoing reasons, the institutional unresponsiveness to the committee’s work and, most immediately, the threatening conduct directed at the office of the Chaplain this evening, I hereby resign the chairmanship of the CR4IC with immediate effect.

I do so not in retreat, and not in fear. I do so in the interest of the dignity of this sacred office, in fidelity to my pastoral calling, and in the conviction that a committee cannot serve its purpose when the very authority that established it responds to security intelligence with threats rather than with action.

My resignation from this committee does not, however, diminish the commitment of All Saints’ Chapel and its chaplaincy to this university, its students, its staff, and its community. We shall continue to serve, to pray, to advocate, and to speak truth to power, whenever truth is demanded and whatever that witness may cost. Threats do not silence a prophetic conscience. They only clarify it.

I pray that the peace of God will abide in this campus and that the family of the life lost this evening will find comfort and justice. I pray also that this institution will find the moral resolve to confront the menace of cultism with the urgency and seriousness that the blood of students demands.

May God grant Your Esteemed wisdom in the exercise of your high office.

Yours faithfully in service to God and this institution,

Egbenusi Osazee David
The Chaplain, All Saints’ Chapel
University of Benin
(Resigning Chairman, CR4IC)

cc: The Lord Bishop of the Diocese of Esan

The Registrar, University of Benin [for record]