Most Rev. Dr. Kevin Joseph Aje
Third Bishop of Sokoto · First African Bishop of the Diocese · Bishop Emeritus
Early life and education
Born on 25 April 1934 in Amper District, Pankshin Division (now Kanke LGA, Plateau State), the only son among four children. Educated by Irish missionaries at Amper, Pankshin, Kwa and Shendam, he trained and worked briefly as a teacher before entering St. Theresa's Minor Seminary, Oke-Are, Ibadan, in 1953, and then SS. Peter and Paul Major Seminary, Bodija. He was ordained priest for the Diocese of Jos by Bishop Reddington, SMA, on 12 June 1966.
Priesthood
He served at Akwanga, St. Theresa's (Jos) and Sacred Heart (Shendam), and became Education Secretary, Justice and Peace Coordinator and Diocesan Secretary of Jos. He served on the Plateau State Education Board, Scholarship Board and Teachers Service Commission, studied at St. Francis Xavier University in Canada, and on his return was Administrator of Our Lady of Fatima Cathedral, Jos.
Episcopate
Elected Coadjutor Bishop of Sokoto in 1982, he was ordained bishop by Pope St. John Paul II in Rome on 6 January 1983 and installed as Bishop of Sokoto on 28 April 1985 — the third Bishop and first indigenous African Bishop of the diocese. For ten years he chaired the Sokoto State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria and was a strong advocate of peaceful co-existence among Christians and Muslims.
Retirement
Having reached the canonical age of retirement, he handed over to Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah on 8 September 2011, after 26 years as Bishop of Sokoto.
