The bishop of Nigeria’s Diocese of Lokoja has withdrawn the ordination certificates of four men he ordained as deacons on July 12 after it was revealed he had been presented with allegedly forged documents claiming the men were qualified for holy orders.
In a statement issued July 30, Bishop Martin Dada Olorunmolu revoked the four men’s certificates and suspended their activities as “deacons.”
After the ordinations, it emerged that everything Olorunmolu was presented with — including the existence of the congregation the men supposedly belonged to called the “Paraclete Missionaries” as well as the congregation’s superior general — was fraudulent.
The men involved in the alleged forgery were identified as Aloysius Kubiatabasi Ebong, Francis Mario Daudu, Nkemaka Charles Chukwudi, and Emmanuel Chukwudum Ezeh.
“I was deceived,” the bishop said.