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Mr Davis MacIyalla, Director of Changing Attitude Network (Nigeria)
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We are making public some of the documents sent by Davis MacIyalla to Changing Attitude (England) together with photographs of himself and one photograph of four in our possession taken at the General Meeting held in Abuja. Davis MacIyalla was introduced to us by the Revd Jide Macaulay, a gay Nigerian pastor living in London. Pastor Macaulay is responsible for a Yahoo Group for lesbian and gay Africans. Davis was a member of the group, and one of those who responded to a request for Anglican members of the group to identify themselves. Sometime after we first made contact, Davis offered himself as a leader and we agreed to support him as the founder of a new Changing Attitude network in Nigeria. In our opening conversations, Davis began to give information about himself. He lives in Niger Delta diocese and is a Knight and lay reader in the Anglican Church. He told us that he had been working with the late bishop of Otukpo diocese, the Rt Rev Prof I Ugede and was Principal of the school and the administrator for the office of the bishop. When the bishop died he was dismissed from the post because the education board felt it was not proper for a gay man to be head of a school. The then bishop of Maiduguri, now the Archbishop of the Province of Jos, was also close and kind to him but wasn’t aware that Davis is a gay man. There were a number of gay men in his church and he led a group of them which met in his house. They discussed how they might be free to live as gay men, the impact of HIV and AIDS and how bad they feel that they have to live and fight such a lonely battle in Nigeria. In the press release issued by the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) on 27 January 2005 and in postings to Thinking Anglicans and emails to Changing Attitude, Canon AkinTunde Popoola made various allegations against Davis MacIyalla. Initially he implied that he didn’t really exist or that at best his identity was fraudulent. He went on to maintain that the story of his life given to us by Davis was a fabrication. As we provided Canon AkinTunde with evidence about the truth of specific parts of Davis’s past, Canon Popoola acknowledged that they were, and are, true. Knight of the ChurchDavis MacIyalla had told us he was made a Knight of the Church by Bishop Ugede. Many people decried this, but Davis sent us a series of photographs showing him in his Knight’s uniform.
Lay Reader
Confirmation and first communion
Canon Popoola alleged that Davis MacIyalla collected money to organise a homosexual meeting that had no reality beyond sponsored reports in newspapersChanging Attitude has already published a selection of photos of the meeting on our website. None of the photographs shows a general picture of the meeting, for obvious reasons. The majority of those present did not want to be photographed for fear that their family or friends would identify them. This is still an anxiety for many in the UK. It is far more acute for lesbian and gay people in Nigeria. In addition to the reports published in the Nigerian Sun and Vanguard, the New York Times published a report on December 18, 2005 by Lydia Polgreen. She was present with her colleague Mike Camber at the General Meeting in Abuja on Saturday 26 November. She had previously been present at a meeting of the Church of Nigeria the same morning, and could have been seen at both meetings by Canon Popoola.
Several prominent Nigerian gay advocates attended the General Meeting. Changing Attitude has spoken with Bisi Alimi, the first gay man to appear on the National Television Authority (NTA) network programme, Joel Nana, webmaster of an African LGBT advocacy website, and Uche, leader of the CAN group in Jos. All independently confirmed the details of the meeting reported by Davis MacIyalla and the New York Times. Also present were Dare Odumuye of Alliance Rights Nigeria and Mr Uche, president of Support Project in Nigeria. The press release implies that Davis MacIyalla has no belief in God and is a fraudster.Davis MacIyalla has been an active and deeply involved member of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) and was recognised for his work by being made a Knight and a lay reader. There is no evidence that Davis has attempted to defraud anyone. Changing Attitude (England) chose to provide financial support for the General Meeting in Abuja. The press release claims that extensive searches revealed that Davis MacIyalla is not registered in any of the over 10,000 local parishes of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) as of the past two years.Changing Attitude (England) questions whether Canon Akintunde Popoola has successfully contacted all of the more than 10,000 local parishes to confirm that Davis MacIyalla is not registered in any of them, as he claims. Changing Attitude (England) was challenged by Canon Popoola to search the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) web site for the parishes named by Davis MacIyalla as those where he is registered. We did so, and found both of them. They are:
The press release claims that none of the over 6000 priests of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) recognised Davis MacIyalla as an active member in any of their parishes.Changing Attitude (England) questions whether Canon Akintunde Popoola has successfully contacted all of the more than 6,000 priests in the parishes of Nigeria, with photographic evidence of Davis MacIyalla, and all of them were able to verify that Davis is not an active member in their parish. The press release claims that Davis MacIyalla defrauded the then dying Bishop of Otukpo under the guise of marrying his daughter.Davis MacIyalla denies that he defrauded the Bishop of Otukpo or was intending to marry the bishop’s daughter. The press release claims that Davis MacIyalla then closed down his own C and S church.Davis MacIyalla denies that he has been involved with a C and S Church, does not know what a C and S church is, and has never closed down a C and S church. A web search reveals that what Canon Popoola seems to be referring to is a Cherubim and Seraphim Church The press release claims that Davis MacIyalla fraudulently obtained some church documents from his then proposed father-in-law, the Bishop of Otukpo.Davis MacIyalla denies that he defrauded the Bishop of Otukpo or was intending to marry the bishop’s daughter. The press release claims that on the death of the bishop mid-2003, Davis MacIyalla broke off the engagement and stole large sums of money including salaries due to some staff.Davis MacIyalla denies that he defrauded the Bishop of Otukpo or was intending to marry the bishop’s daughter. In an email to the Revd Colin Coward, the Director of Changing Attitude (England), explaining why the Church of Nigeria had never prosecuted Davis MacIyalla for this alleged crime, Canon Popoola said ‘His (Davis’s) whereabouts in Abuja is known but the Church is not interested in persecuting him nor arresting him for a crime committed hundreds of miles away.’ In an earlier email, Canon Popoola denied that Davis MacIyalla had ever been employed by the Diocese of Otukpo. Davis MacIyalla has supplied Changing Attitude (England) with a scan of the salary payment voucher for St John’s Secondary School, Otukpo for April 2003. They show that Sir Davis MacIyalla, number 22 on the roll, was paid a total of N8,500 after deduction of tax. The press release claims that Davis MacIyalla is wanted by the police in Otukpo.Davis MacIyalla denies that he defrauded the Bishop of Otukpo or stole any money from the Diocese of Otukpo, and states that there is no reason for him to be wanted by the police in Otukpo. The press release claims that Davis MacIyalla says he was sacked and victimised for his homosexuality and implies that this isn’t true.Davis MacIyalla has sent Changing Attitude (England) a scan of the letter of dismissal dated 15/08/2003. It is headed: Sir Davis MacIyalla (Principal) Notice of New Development. The letter says: We write to inform you on behalf of the Diocesan Board (Anglican Communion) Diocese of Otukpo, that your duty as the Principal of St John’s Secondary School Otukpo, should stop with immediate effect, until you see the Supervisory Bishop for further clearance. Also be informed that a Committee have been appointed to assist the V.P. (Admin) for admission (2003/2004) academic session, and other relevant works in the School until you are cleared by the Supervisory Bishop. (Signed by the Bishop of Lafia and the Diocesan Clerical Secretary [Revd Martin Agber]) The press release claims that Davis MacIyalla exploits Christian love and the good name of the Church in a bid to defraud people, especially foreigners, of money.We have evidence that Davis MacIyalla has been sent emails by people in other countries, emails to which he has replied. The recipients of emails report that Davis has never asked for money. We have received no evidence that Davis MacIyalla has attempted to defraud anyone of money. Canon AkinTunde Popoola has not provided any evidence in support of this allegation. |
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