House on the Rock, headquartered in Lagos has backed the presiding pastor of his Abuja branch Uche Aigbe, who mounted the pulpit carrying an AK-47 rifle during a sermon last Sunday.
Aigbe’s action has caused an uproar even on social media with the police effecting the arrest of the controversial pastor on Monday and he is currently being detained by the Federal Capital Territory Police Command.
Thousands of the congregants at his church were left amused when Aigbe mounted the pulpit with the firearms saying, “Some people are looking for my trouble. And I came here prepared. Today, there are some pastors with the gift of divination who go about ripping people off. This is why we should carry our ‘guns’ and defend ourselves. I will particularly be coming very soon for some of you sleeping in the church,”
However, the church in a statement on Monday gave an insight into why Aigbe carried the gun to just, insisting the controversial pastor was merely illustrating his message to the congregants and the AK-47 was not loaded with bullets.
The church said the pastor’s action was regrettable as admitting it was ill-advised.
The statement 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 realises 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 apologises 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.”
