”It is associated with a romantic demon known as cupid” – Bishop calls for ban on Valentine’s Day celebration in Nigeria

Bishop Charles Ighele, General Superintendent of the Holy Spirit Mission, has called for a ban on the celebration of Valentine’s Day in Nigeria.

In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Ighele cited the illicit sexual abuse and promotion of romantic relationships associated with the day as reasons for his call.

According to Ighele, Valentine’s Day has been misconstrued from its original purpose of promoting aid to the needy and humanitarian works. He described the day as a “deception from the devil” that imposes a “universal day of immorality” on the world.

Ighele noted that the celebration of Valentine’s Day is associated with the Roman god of love, Cupid, which he claimed inspires sexual feelings and spreads sexual entertainment.

He urged authorities to proscribe the celebration of the day due to its negative influence on youths.

The bishop emphasised the importance of promoting cultures of social redeeming values and called on the government, church, school, and family to unite in this effort.

He believes that banning Valentine’s Day celebrations would redeem people from destruction.

“The day is associated with a romantic demon known as Cupid. This demon is one of the rulers of the darkness of this world as found in Ephesians 6 verses 11 and 12,” he said.

“Cupid is the Roman name for the Greek god of love known as Eros. The English word erotic has its root in Eros.

“The dictionary defines the word erotic as relating to or tendency to arouse sexual desire or excitement.

”The celebration of the day inspires s3xual feelings on people and spread s3xual entertainment in order to further institutionalise sex,” he said.