The Catholic Diocese of Enugu has suspended Reverend Father Ejike Mbaka from church activities for one month.
Church authorities familiar with the case say his suspension is due to his constant meddling into political issues. The situation is said to continue to overshadow his theological obligations on a scale that nurtured unending concerns among his senior clerics.
Father Mbaka’s suspension takes effect from the 3rd of May after he was summoned by Most Rev Dr Callistus Valentine Onaga, the diocesan bishop.
Officials say that Bishop Onaga summoned Father Mbaka to discuss his repeated clashes with President Muhammadu Buhari’s aides and warned that his conduct was smearing the image of the church, the largest of any Christian organisation worldwide.
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Father Mbaka had disagreed with President Muhammadu Buhari’s aides on a number of issues causing presidential aides to accuse him of contract racketeering and being a political jobber.
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The exchanges caused the Bishop and other senior clerics of the Church to step in to mitigate a perceived unfolding unpleasant relationship between the Church and the political landscape.
The church leaders took cognisance of the fact that Mbaka’s Adoration Ministry is an independent congregation that does not fall directly under the main church’s control. However, they considered it necessary to rein him in as a priest ordained under the Roman Catholic denomination.
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There are allegations that Mbaka returned to his church to incite his followers against the Bishop. Some of them claimed and told reporters that he was kidnapped and handed over to the DSS, a development that the DSS denied.
This according to some caused the members to stage mass protests on the streets and the residence of the Bishop on Wednesday.
Callistus Valentine Onaga, D.D is the fifth Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Enugu