Annastasia Kinse, a former reverend sister from Plateau State under the Congregation of Mother of Perpetual Help of the Archangels Sisters, Auchi Diocese, Edo State, has explained why she was expelled by the church under controversial circumstances.
Kinse trended online over her allegations that reverend sisters are pimped against their wishes to reverend fathers in the catholic church in Nigeria.
Speaking to Sunday Punch, the former nun insisted that she was wrongfully dismissed after she reported that she was being sexually harassed at the Catholic owned Veritas University, Abuja.
She told the paper: “In July 2025, my congregation issued an official clarification and disclaimer letter on Facebook and WhatsApp. The letter stated that a dismissal notice had been dated July 21, but I did not officially receive it until September 24. By then, rumours about my status were already spreading, following the circulation of a letter written by a priest of the Auchi Diocese, Rev. Fr. Solomon Andrew Olumekhor, on social media. To clear the air, I made a public post on Facebook explaining what happened.
“The letter claimed that I had acted against my vows and identified as a Muslim, but that was completely false. What truly happened was that I reported a case of harassment at Veritas University. My report didn’t sit well with the vice chancellor and others. Instead of receiving support, I was met with silence, intimidation, and eventually, dismissal”.
She added: “It was a case of sexual harassment. The man involved was my head of department. I had voice recordings and videos as evidence. My intention was not to destroy anyone’s reputation; I only wanted to prevent him from doing it to other women.
“At first, I wrote a confidential complaint, requesting that my identity be protected because I didn’t want it to become a scandal. But soon after, I was told to remove the anonymity clause and defend my claims openly.
“They set up a panel that made me feel as though I was the one on trial. The panel members were instructed to make me prove where such cases had been reported and not handled by the university. I felt heartbroken that the burden of proof was being pushed onto me instead of the institution conducting a proper investigation. None of the people I had written to, including the Chief Medical Director of the university, was invited to testify”.
The former nun explained why she shared a post on Facebook announcing her purported conversion to Islam, saying she did it out of frustration.
She said: “Yes, that post caused a lot of misunderstanding. On July 12, I wrote on Facebook that I had converted to Islam. That post was not a conversion; it was made in a moment of frustration and despair. My aunt died as a Muslim, and her name, Salamatu, came to mind when I made that post. The picture used was from 2023.
“At that time, I felt abandoned by the Church system I had served all my life. I was angry that the very people who should protect victims were instead protecting perpetrators. It was an emotional outburst; a cry of pain, not a renunciation of my faith”.
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