Catholic Church suspends Lagos priest who banned Igbo songs in his parish

The Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos has suspended indefinitely, the Parish Priest of Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Ewu-Owa Gberigbe in Ikorodu area of the state, Rev. Fr James Anelu for banning Igbo songs and choruses in the parish.

The parish priest, had on Sunday, reportedly angrily banned Igbo songs and choruses in his church, accusing Igbo people of dominating the church, a development that brought the church service to an abrupt end and caused outrage within the community.

Reacting to the development, the Lagos Archbishop in a statement by Bishop Alfred Adewale Martins, described the priest’s actions as completely unacceptable, while also also announcing his indefinite suspension.

“It has been brought to our notice that Rev. Fr. James Anelu, the Priest-in-Charge of Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Ewu-owa, Ikorodu, made some completely unacceptable comments about Igbo songs being sung in the Church and unsavoury remarks that do not represent the Catholic Church’s position on common brotherhood of peoples of all tribes and religions,” the statement said.

“For this reason he has been asked to proceed on an indefinite leave of absence to give an opportunity for a thorough investigation of all the matters relating to his ministry in the parish. The leave of absence takes effect from Tuesday, 8th February, 2022 till further notice.

“We therefore urge all Catholic faithful to hold on to the faith and continue in our worship of God as one big family united in love and not separated by language, culture or race.”