The Akwa Ibom State government has sealed off the headquarters
of Christ Embassy Church in Uyo.
The Secretary to the Akwa Ibom State Government, Dr.
Emmanuel Ekuwem said in a press statement that the pastors and members of the
church obstructed and attacked the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN)
monitoring team who were at the church on June 21 to monitor compliance with
the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control guideline for religious worship during
the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr Ekuwem said “the suspected Pastors and relevant
members of the church will be made to face the wrath of the law.”
The head pastor of Christ Embassy in Uyo, Emmanuel
Effiong, said about a week ago that CAN’s agreement with the Akwa Ibom
government on the guidelines to follow during church worship was not binding on
their members since Christ Embassy is not a member of CAN, according to a
report by the Punch.
The pastor, according to the report, said the use of
face masks throughout the congregational worship as stipulated in the
guidelines expose worshippers to health hazards, while the seating arrangement
of not more than 200 no matter the size of the church was a clear attempt to
gag the church.
Making reference to the Nigerian Constitution to
buttress his points, Effiong said the guidelines issued by the state government
was against the fundamental right to worship and made it difficult to exercise
one’s faith as a Christian.
He said, “Our church is a global ministry and we do
not believe or advocate unionism, rather we believe in the unity of faith.
Today, we state without equivocation that we are not members of CAN or any
other association in the country and as such hold the strong belief that we
cannot and should not be bounded by whatever decision the association reaches
out with the government.
“The use of face masks for the entire duration of
congregational worship is an act, which has been scientifically proven to be
hazardous to the health as uninterrupted use of face masks over a long period
of time may cause hypoxia, the absence of oxygen to sustain bodily functions.
“Also, we are
expected not to sit more than 200 worshippers during each church service, among
others. This is a clear attempt to gag the church.”
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