AK47: Chinedu Akuta hails the police for arresting pastor.
2 min read
A couple of weeks ago, Nigerians were shocked to watch a viral video of a Nigerian Pastor with one of the branches of House on the Rock in Abuja who mounted the pulpit with an AK47 assault rifle. The House on the Rock cleric named Pastor Uche Aigbe from the message he delivered to his congregation was preaching radical Christianity and liberation theology.
After the video went viral last week, the Abuja police department successfully arrested the man of God for questioning. The Intelligence Response Team, IRT, under the Force Intelligence Bureau, FIB, the pastor has been taken under custody for serious questioning.
During the questioning, it was gathered that it was one Inspector Musa Audu that handed over his service weapon to the police officer to carry out the radical preaching. Umuaka Times gathered last week that the Commissioner of Police, Federal Capital Territory Command, Sadiq Abubakar wants Audu dismissed for official misconduct.
Last week, the leadership of House on the Rock has reacted to the incident and defended the pastor in a message released by the church. The message reads” “On Sunday, February 12, a resident pastor of House on the Rock, Abuja Church, Pastor Uche Aigbe in a message about fighting the good fight with spiritual weapons, carried an unloaded gun to illustrate his message on ‘Guarding your Faith.’
“Pastor Uche has been a leader in House on the Rock, Abuja since 1999 and has always shown exemplary leadership. However, he realizes that even with the best of intentions, carrying a gun to illustrate his message was ill-advised and regrettable.
“Without hesitation, Pastor Uche has acknowledged the gravity of his actions and apologizes unreservedly for them.
“As a church, House on the Rock rejects all forms of violence and we stand on the good news gospel of Jesus Christ which embraces peace and goodwill for all of mankind.
“We are cooperating fully with the authorities as they carry out their investigations into this incident, and we will continue to engage internally to ensure this break in protocol does not happen again.”
Meanwhile many Nigerians have been reacting and condemning the act demonstrated by the pastor. One of such Nigerians who has reacted was the UK based social critic and pro democracy activist, Chinedu Vincent Akuta, in a YouTube video clip that went viral last week. Akuta condemned in strongest terms, the incorporation of weapons in the gospel of Jesus Christ who stood for peace and justice. He further commended the police for the prompt arrest of the man of God in a chat with Umuaka Times and cautioned that his case be treated properly to avoid other men of God following such an ugly trend.
