Use Your Hell Fire to Generate Electricity’ — Ex-Catholic Priest, Tells Evangelists

ABAKALIKI — A former Catholic priest and current Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Ebonyi State, Mr. Onyeka Okorie has criticized street evangelism and public preaching, urging religious groups to respect others’ rights and keep faith private.

In an update on his official handle titled “Someone’s Waste Is Another One’s Wealth,” he wrote . “We need the energy from your Hell fire to generate electric power in Nigeria. Such fire shouldn’t be wasting for nothing.”

In the same post, he addressed believers directly: “Could you and your God, the owner of the fire, and your Satan, the caretaker of the hell fire oblige us. Thank you.”

He further called for an end to what he described as public religious imposition: “Stop infecting others with your ignorance through your Evangelism, Morning Cry etc. Stop violating other’s rights. Religion is private.”

Onyeka, identified as a humanist and ex-Catholic priest, now chairs the NHRC in Ebonyi State. He has been publicly critical of religious practices he views as infringing on public space and individual freedoms.

The post has sparked reactions online, with some users backing his stance on noise pollution and privacy, while others defended street evangelism as a constitutional right to freedom of religion and expression under Section 38 of the 1999 Constitution.

As of press time, neither the Christian Association of Nigeria, Ebonyi chapter, nor other religious bodies in the state have issued a response.