TheCable

The House on the Rock Church has explained why Uche Aigbe, resident pastor of the Abuja branch of the church, carried an AK-47 while preaching on Sunday.

Aigbe, a police inspector said to have provided the rifle, and the church’s chief security officer have been arrested over the Sunday incident.

In a statement on Monday, the church said the pastor used the gun to illustrate a message on ‘Guarding your Faith’.

House on the Rock added that the pastor has apologised for his action, and that there will not be a reoccurrence of such “break in protocol”.

“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’,” the statement reads.

“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.”