Reverend Father Ejike Mbaka, the Spiritual Head of the Adoration Ministries Enugu Nigeria, has apologised to the Catholic Church after some irate followers stormed Bishop Callistus Onaga of the Enugu Diocese’ residence and destroyed properties.

Tendering his apology during his sermon on Sunday, Mbaka asked Bishop Onaga to forgive him and his followers for their actions which have rubbed off negatively on the church.

WUZUPNIGERIA reports that some of Mbaka’s followers had, in reaction to the cleric’s disappearance Wednesday,  accused Onaga of setting him (Mbaka) up for arrest by the Department of State Service (DSS), stormed and broke into the diocesan cathedral where the bishop resides and damaged some properties.

Apologising on behalf of his followers, Mbaka said:

“I can’t disobey the church who am I? How can somebody who has been serving the church for 25 years come out to begin to fight the same church? Everything in my life is for the church.”

“In all honesty, Father Mbaka here has no problem with the church. I don’t have any problem with my bishop; people want to achieve it but they cannot allow it. Because I have something in me that will conquer all this problem — the gift of humility and the obedience of the church.”

WUZUPNIGERIA in monitoring the sermon noted Mbaka speaking on how thousands of his followers invaded the premises of the Catholic cathedral and the residence of the bishop while searching for him.

He quickly added that the church leadership immediately directed him to go and bring the protesters out as they had vowed that ‘things will get bad’ if they don’t see him.

“I never knew that even a glass was broken. What I was praising you for was not for what was destroyed, but for your ability to search for your missing pastor,” he said.

“There was a lot of mixed information. The devil entered the story; the church did not kidnap me.

“I wish to apologise for whoever that misunderstood my statement. I did not clap for anybody for destroying anything. I heard that the search for Father Mbaka was hijacked; people joined and started breaking things.

“I am here standing on your behalf and I render my sincere, unalloyed apologies to the Holy Catholic church where I belong, and say, may the mother church forgive us in any way we didn’t do it well.

“Even in all that I said, where I didn’t say it well, I pray for forgiveness. I am on your (the worshippers) behalf, kneeling down for the church and I tell the church, forgive.”

“We are to save the image and face of the church, and the souls of the children of God. I am here for soul-saving, the church is not my property because I belong to the church,” he said.