The Presiding Pastor of House on the Rock, Abuja Chapter, Uche Aigbe, has been arrested by the Federal Capital Territory Police Command for wielding an AK47 rifle while addressing the congregation. Also, the church’s Chief Security Officer, Inspector Musa Audu, was arrested for releasing his gun to Aigbe. The FCT Police Public Relations Officer, Josephine Adeh, confirmed the development in a statement on Monday.
Adeh further stated that the FCT Police Command had arrested one Pastor Uche Aigbe of House on the Rock Cathedral, Abuja, and two others. While discrete investigations have commenced, members of the public are urged to shun actions or utterances that are in breach of extant laws.
Punch Metro gathered that Aigbe caused a stir when he mounted the pulpit with an AK47 rifle and addressed the congregation, saying that he was ready for anyone looking for trouble. Aigbe’s remark made the entire congregation laugh as he urged them to guard their heart against false teachers. The pastor’s action was captured in a video clip that was released online, and it attracted mixed reactions from Nigerians.
However, following a report of the incident by TalkGlitz on Sunday, police sources, who spoke to the correspondent on Monday, said policemen swung into action immediately. One of the sources said that they got the report around 10.50 pm on Sunday on Punch Newspaper’s online publication that Pastor Uche Aigbe of House on the Rock Church mounted the pulpit with an AK47 rifle.
Another police source revealed that Inspector Musa Audu, who was on church duty on the same day, released his rifle to the pastor without permission. Audu has now been detained alongside the pastor. However, the FCT CP has submitted a recommendation to the IG for Audu’s dismissal, and he will be facing an orderly room trial soon.
The church, in a statement made available to TalkGlitz on Monday evening, said that Aigbe had always shown exemplary leadership since he became the pastor of the church in 1999. Although the pastor was trying to illustrate the message through his action, the church noted that the gun was not loaded, adding that it did not support any form of violence. The church also acknowledged the gravity of Aigbe’s actions and apologized unreservedly for them.
The statement further explained that House on the Rock rejects all forms of violence and stands in the good news gospel of Jesus Christ, which embraces peace and goodwill for all mankind. The church said that it would cooperate with the authorities throughout the investigation into the matter and continue to engage internally to ensure that such a breach in protocol does not happen again.
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