LAGOS (NIGERIA)
The Tablet [Market Harborough, England]
September 3, 2025
By Dickson Adeyanju
‘Religious sisters are not priests’ wives. We are not bedmates. We are women of God. The Church must do better because God is watching,’ said Sr Kinse Anastasia in a social media post.
Allegations that Catholic priests treat nuns as their “wives” caused controversy in Nigeria, with supporters of the accuser clashing with officials who said she had left the Church.
In a social media post on 24 August, Sr Kinse Anastasia claimed Religious sisters face pressure for sex from priests, who treat them as “ornaments in habits”. She said that some priests openly say that “sisters are meant to be priests’ wives” and act as such.
She also accused Church leaders of silencing nuns who complain of abuse and Religious superiors of misusing their authority, while also condemning those who compromise their vows because “it weakens the dignity of consecrated life”.
“Religious sisters are not priests’ wives. We are not bedmates. We are women of God. The Church must do better because God is watching,” Sr Anastasia said. Her social media profile described her as a member of the Mother of Perpetual Help of the Archangel Sisters (MOPHAS), working at Veritas University in Abuja.
The post prompted widespread reactions, with many voicing support for her and calling on the Church to create safe channels for Sisters to report abuse. Acknowledging these arguments, Fr Michael Umoh, the director of social communications for the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, said the Church was considering her allegation.
“The Church is aware of it but is yet to make its stand known on it. The Church is not closing its eyes to it but the veracity of her claim is not known yet,” he told The Tablet.
“However, the greatest part of it is that the Church loves the Sister and is praying for her. That is the situation now,” he said. “We are praying for her just as she is praying for herself at this time. Who is holy? It is only Christ but why are we Christians and priests? To be holy as Christ is. That is the position for now but the most important thing is that the Church loves the Sister and praying for her.”
However, Veritas University said Sr Anastasia had left its employment by the time she made the claim. Its director of communications Ben Agande told The Tablet she left “a few months back” and that her allegations did not relate to any priests at the university.
Some claimed she had been found to have been mentally unfit for Religious life, or referred to earlier posts on her account saying she had converted to Islam and took the name Salamatu.
In a letter on 29 August, the superior general of MOPHAS Sr Maryanne Ogwokhademhe and the congregation’s secretary general Sr Rosemary Odion said Anastasia had “defected” to Islam and had been formally dismissed from the congregation after “persistent rejection of fraternal correction”.
They said the work of clergy and Religious “should not be overshadowed by the failings of an individual” and that the congregation “completely disassociates” itself from Anastasia. Nevertheless, many social media responses continued to voice support for her.
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