SEX AND OTHER STORIES FROM FR FRANCIS ANYANWU
By Timothy Ofoegbu
A suspended Catholic priest used his verified Facebook page to wage a guerrilla warfare with the Catholic Diocese of Aba before and after his suspension on 17th July 2025.
The priest is now somewhere in Spain but he set the social media on fire last week when he accused some Catholic bishops of incest, sexual immorality, nepotism, and even cultism plus witchcraft.
THE GENESIS
Rev Fr Francis Anyanwu is a native of Amapu Ngwa in Abia State, Nigeria. He was ordained a Catholic priest on 13 September 2014. He belongs to the Congregation of Christ the Emmanuel that works in the Aba diocese. The congregation is led by Rev Fr Prof John Egbulefu who is based in Rome.
Rev Fr Francis Anyanwu was sent to Spain for further studies. And that was the beginning of the multiple problems.
THE EXODUS
He claimed that his phone and computers were hacked by his host Bishop Juan Carlos Elizalde with the intention to steal his PhD thesis. This was in July 2022.
He described his host bishop in Spain as a fake prophet and cultic man that is deep in immorality and a man that uses fake revelations to manipulate others, especially the Catholic Bishop of Aba.
The Bishop of Vitoria Diocese in Spain, Juan Carlos, turned around and accused Fr Francis Anyanwu of alleged mental health problems and immorality and asked the Bishop of Aba to withdraw him from the school and his diocese and return him back to Aba.
It was done because Fr Francis was recalled to Aba in November 2024 and was not posted to any parish or institution. He was just dumped and snubbed. He snapped.
THE NUMBERS
Believing that the Bishop of Aba has a hand in his sudden recall and abandonment, he used social media, especially Facebook, to pour out his venomous accusations:
- The Bishop of Aba is running the Aba diocese with favouritism and nepotism.
- Many priests in the Aba Catholic diocese are deep in immorality and financial recklessness.
- There is a conspiracy by so many priests and bishops against him because they are interested in collecting the money that he was paid in Spain as stipends.
- His village Church St Benedict signpost was removed and the village name disappeared. (Confirmed: his late father sponsored the signpost of St Benedict Amapu Ngwa, but the bigger village uprooted it and put NGWA UKWU on the signpost since his village rejected the notion that the church is located at AHIABA, so a neutral name was chosen. Fr Francis supported AMAPU NGWA against the diocesan approval of Ngwa Ukwu.)
- Fr Francis Anyanwu believed that emphasis on money, cultism, and sexual immorality— even incest, rape, and cultism— had destroyed the moral fabric of Aba Catholic diocese.
- He mentioned two bishops by name, an Archbishop that is an Igbo, and four priests to be the architects of his woes.
THE LEVITICUS
The Catholic Diocese of Aba vehemently denied all the accusations and tried to reconcile with him, but he severed his relationship with the head of his congregation and lamented his devices that were hacked.
He increased his social media warfare on the church hierarchy, claiming that many priests are evil and untouchable and that only a section of Abia State got juicy appointments and parishes, especially if you’re from Ngwa. Ironically, he is from Ngwa.
The Church on 17th July 2025, suspended Rev Fr Francis Anyanwu from priesthood for the following reasons:
- Publication of false and defamatory articles against the Diocese of Aba
- Persistent disobedience to his superiors
- Public and offensive attacks on bishops and rectors and refusal to retract and apologize
- Refusal to accept correction and professional help as regards his emotional and mental well-being
- His disobedience of the order that forbids returning to Spain
THE MOOD OF SOME ABA LAY CATHOLICS
I reached out to some top lay Catholics in Aba Diocese for their reactions. These are their views:
- Many of them have not even heard of Fr Francis Anyanwu except through his Facebook articles that went viral
- All those I interviewed believe that Fr Francis crossed the lines by calling his bishops names, and they supported his suspension
- Some of those I spoke with also believed that some of the priests are truly becoming untouchable, and said that the late Bishop Ezeonyia was firm as a disciplinarian and never gave room for lifestyles of priests that lead to scandals and gossip
- One respondent was furious. He said the Bishop should set up an independent commission outside the Aba Catholic Diocese to investigate the matter. He said that he has heard the rumour that Fr Francis may have the alleged emotional and mental challenges, but that the accusations he made against the diocese are weighty and should not be swept under the carpet by suspending him.
The End
My name is Timothy Ofoegbu. A member of Nigerian Union of Journalists and an active member of the Catholic Church.
