The Nigeria Police Force said it has invited Uche Aigbe, the presiding pastor of the House on the Rock Church, Abuja Chapter for interrogation following the viral image of him wielding an Ak-47 rifle while preaching on the pulpit on Sunday.
The Force, through its spokesperson, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi in a series of tweets, said Aigbe’s action was contrary to the Prohibited Firearms Act in Nigeria, which prohibits the possession of weapons by unauthorised individuals.
Part of the tweet read, “We have requested the video of the service to hear what the pastor was saying. How did he get the gun, maybe from a security agent. He has been invited by the CP FCT. IGP has ordered the CP FCT to handle it and revert so that Nigerians will know what transpired”.
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Adejobi’s reaction followed online outrage at the images of the pastor clutching the weapon across his shoulder.
The Police Spokesperson while condemning his actions said, “No one bears it except an officer of the law, and not all of them have the right, selected security operatives, but no individual has the right to bear it”.
Checks by THE WHISTLER, however, revealed that Aigbe came with the rifle to illustrate to his congregation the relevance of guarding one’s heart and faith against the vices of the wicked, whom he likened to bandits and kidnappers.
A link to the Live broadcast on Sunday, sighted by our correspondent showed the pastor preaching for about an hour with the rifle and at intervals lifting it as he buttressed the crux of the sermon, ‘faith for endless possibilities’.
“If you are guarding your heart, you are indirectly guarding your faith. We live in a time where we need to protect our faith against hoodlums, bandits, and wicked people who seek to subvert the faith of God in our lives so that they can stop what God wants to do. I came prepared because I need to guard your faith because I need to guard my faith,” he said during the sermon.
However, a Twitter user, @Murtalaibin, called on the Force to investigate the team attached to the pastor or the facility, noting that a police officer may have allowed him to have unauthorized access to the government-issued firearm.
The Police Spokesperson further noted that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command “will investigate it” and make “an official statement as soon as possible”.
THE WHISTLER had contacted Aigbe via his active social handle on Instagram, but there has been no response as of press time. The FCT Police Spokesperson, DSP Josephine Adeh, however, asked for time to revert on the issue.
Also, the church founder Paul Adeferasin, known for his strong online presence is yet to publicly comment on the situation. His Twitter page showed he had shared excerpts from his church service on Sunday, and words of motivation by Monday.
Meanwhile, Part II, Section Three of the Firearms Act States:
“No person shall have in his possession or under his control any firearm of one of the categories specified in Part I of the Schedule to this Act (in this Act referred to as a “prohibited firearm”) except by a licence granted by the President acting in his discretion.”
Part VII, Section 27 Section (1) (a)(i) and Sub session (b(i) of the Act also outlined the penalties of such an action that States:
(1) Any person who contravenes any of the provisions of this Act specified in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this section, is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction-
(a) As to any offences under any of the following-
(i) Section 3 of this Act, (which prohibits the possession or control of firearms or certain categories); to a minimum sentence of ten years
(b) As to any offences under any of the following-
(i) section 4 of this Act, (which restricts the possession or control of personal firearms); to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.