Court shuts Abuja church for flaunting ban on religious gatherings

By Stanley Onyekwere

The FCT Mobile Court sitting at Jabi has ordered an indefinite closure of The Shekinah Glory Church, located opposite the Popular Citec Estate, Jabi, for allegedly contravening the ban on religious gathering in the Territory.
The presiding Magistrate, Mabel Bello also directed that the General Overseer of the church, simply identified as Pastor kalu, who escaped with some top workers of the church, by jumping through the fence , be tracked down and arrested.
Confirming the development, FCT Enforcement Team leader, Ikharo Attah, at the weekend, said he mobilized to the area, when he got a hint that the church was holding a full service, in contravention of the ban on religious gathering, but on sighting the team, the Pastor , some leading church workers including Deacons and urshers jumped over the fence and escaped.
Attah noted that some of the church members, especially female church workers who could not escape , were arrested and arraigned before the court.
According to him, the Magistrate found the church workers guilty of violating the lockdown restrictions order and sentenced them to 3 hours supervised community service with an option of N1000 fine.
Attah added that a search for the fleeing cleric had begun, saying he must be made to face the law for disobeying government’s directives and endangering the lives of his members.
In a related development, the Team also intercepted a truck load of foodstuffs from zamfara state, that had 22 passengers on board, and were hidden beneath the bags of beans and potatoes.
Attah stressed that during interrogation of the driver and occupants of the truck at Abuja city gate where they were intercepted, it was discovered that the 22 passengers where people who defied government’s ban on interstate movement and were almost sneaking into the city centre.
He disclosed that the Enforcement Team immediately escorted the errant passengers out of Abuja with a marching order that they should return to zamfara state and wait there until the coronavirus pandemic is over.