By Omonu YG Nelson
The Catholic Diocese of Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, has distanced itself from a viral social media publication about the supposed wedding of Rev. Fr. Jude Obasi, a native of Afikpo North LGA, which took place on May 25, 2024, at St Mary’s Catholic Church Abakaliki.
According to the Diocesan Chancellor, Rev. Fr. Matthew Uzoma Opoke, “The attention of the Catholic Diocese of Abakaliki has been drawn to a publication which has gone viral on social media… We hereby state with certitude that there is no one who goes by the name Jude Obasi among the priests of the Catholic Diocese of Abakaliki.”
The statement further clarifies that:
– The face of the person in the picture does not resemble any priest of the Catholic Diocese of Abakaliki.
– Afikpo North LGA has no indigenous priest, incardinated anywhere in the world, that goes by the name Jude Obasi.
– There is no such place as St. Mary’s Catholic Church Abakaliki in the Diocese.
– No event took place within the Diocese on the said date that could be alluded to a priest or an ex-priest getting married.
Rev. Fr. Opoke concludes, “It goes without saying that the publication, which lacks fundamentum in re, is FAKE. It was possibly fermented by a blogger who wants to gain much traffic on their social media handles ahead of the expected monetization of Meta (Facebook) pages in Nigeria in the coming month. Kindly disregard.”
The Diocese urges the public to disregard the publication and avoid spreading false information.