The Catholic Bishop of Lokoja, Most Reverend Martin Olorunmolu has decreed the withdrawal ‘Diaconate Ordination Certificates’ issued to four men over forged documents.
The four men who were falsely presented for diaconate ordination were: Aloysius Kubiatabasi Ebong, Francis Mario Daudu, Nkemaka Charles Chukwudi and Emmanuel Chukwudum Ezeh.
In a decree sighted by our correspondent, Bishop Olorunmolu decreed that the men are not to be recognized by any ecclesiastical authority or other authorities, including civil ones.
The decree signed by Bishop Olorunmolu and Rev. Fr. Augustine Okafor acknowledged that the four men were ordained deacons at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Lokoja, on July 12 this year at the request of one “Rev. Fr. Stephen Obioma Nwaigwe” who presented himself to the Bishop as the “Superior General” of a religious institute he called the “Paraclete Missionaries”
Most Rev. Olorunmolu, however, said he was deceived with forged documents.
“I made sure that all the canonical requirements for the ordination were met so as to ensure that I ordain only qualified and worthy candidates for the church.
“However, I was deceived. I was given pieces of false information by the so-called ‘Superior General’, Fr. Stephen Obioma Nwaigwe. He also gave me falsified documents to make some claims which turned out to be false. For instance, he showed me a forged document to claim that ‘Paraclete Missionaries’ were properly erected as a religious institute.
“I have found out that the ‘Decree of Ecclesiastical Approbation’ for the ‘Missionaries of Jesus the Saviour’ (also known as ‘Jesolites’) based in Mogorogo Diocese , Tanzania, East Africa was used by him to produced a forged ‘Decree of Ecclesiastical Approbation’ for the ‘Paraclete Missionaries’ by replacing the true name ‘Missionaries of Jesus the Saviour’, on it with the name ‘Paraclete Missionaries’
“Shortly after the diaconate ordination ceremony, it was discovered that, before the ordination took place, one of the candidates, in the person of Aloysius Kubiatabasi Ebong, had been parading himself at the Military Barracks in Lokoja as a Catholic Priest and had even been ‘celebrating’ masses,” he said.
On account of so much falsehood, Bishop Olorunmolu decreed that all faculties inherent in their office as deacons be suspended with immediate effect.
The Bishop expressed optimism that further actions will be taken by Rome on the matter as a follow up to his report.
