ONITSHA (NIGERIA)
IOL - Independent Online [Johannesburg, South Africa]
March 14, 2022
By Chad Williams
Cape Town – The Anglican Diocese of Niger has terminated the appointment of one of its priests, Reverend Canon Lumenkriti Ebo, for allegedly getting a woman who came seeking help pregnant, according to Malawian online news publication the Maravi Post.
Deputy Chancellor/Registrar of the Diocese on the Niger, Anglican Communion, Ben Uzuegbu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), stated this during a press conference held at the Secretariat complex of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Anambra State Council, Awka.
While the church accused Ebo of impregnating a lady who went to his adoration ministry by telling her she had to sleep with him to get healing, Ebo also accused the church of taking his legally married wife and accommodating her outside her matrimonial home, according to local media.
According to the church, Reverend Ebo made himself a god contrary to his mandate to be a role model, with the calling to draw souls of those willing to repent of their sins to Jesus Christ.
Nigerian online news publication Daily Trust reported on Monday that Uzuegbu accused Reverend Ebo of allegedly indulging in immoral acts with women other than his wife, noting that several petitions and complaints were brought against the cleric while he held sway in the Anglican community in the state, said reports.
According to reports, things became very heated between the church and the clergyman when the bishop withdrew the ordination licence of Ebo over alleged immoral acts capable of undermining the reputation of the church.
The Maravi Post further said that until the withdrawal of his ordination licence recently, Ebo was running an adoration ministry at Umunya in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State.
Meanwhile, in 2020, Pope Francis confirmed reports for the first time that a particular Malawian Diocesan impregnated 30 nuns.
According to the Zambian Observer, the National Catholic Reporter said that “no comprehensive statistics” exist on the sexual abuse of nuns, but the “frequency and consistency of the reports … point to a problem that needs to be addressed, citing an AP/Washington Times report.