Pastor Uche Aigbe of ‘House on the Rock’, Church Abuja has tendered an apology to members of his church and Nigerians at large for mounting the pulpit with an unloaded AK-47 rifle.
In a video posted on the church’s social media page on Tuesday, the remorseful pastor stated that he was disappointed in himself for not considering the consequence of his action before using a firearm to illustrate a Bible passage during his teaching.
Previously, the embattled preacher had caused a fuss among Nigerians when he was seen in a viral video mounting the pulpit with an AK-47 rifle to address the congregation on ‘Guarding the Faith’, and as a consequence of his action, he was arrested.
Following the tension created by the viral clip on social media and online blogs that picked the story from The PUNCH, the Church released a statement, saying the minister has always shown exemplary leadership since he became the pastor in 1999.
However, the church faulted his use of the gun while explaining that the minister was only trying to be illustrative with his message.
Meanwhile, the Pastor and Inspector Musa Audu, who was identified as the owner of the AK-47 were both invited for questioning and detained by the police authorities in Abuja.
But on Sunday, a reflective-looking Aigbe addressed his congregation midway through the service that the traumatic experience he had in the last week had given him a lot of concerns.
While apologizing for the embarrassment his action has caused the Church, he admitted guilty for not giving his decision to mount the pulpit with a firearm a second thought.
He said, “This morning I stand before you with a deep sense of sobriety and contrition as I humbly address the event of last Sunday at the second service which most of us were part of, where I used an unloaded firearm to illustrate some texts from the Bible regarding the good fight of faith.
“Of course, as you all know, it has caused a lot of embarrassment and pain to the entire church family, to you House on the Rock (The Refuge), to my immediate family, and, of course, to myself. The decision that I made to use that firearm was not thoughtful. It has left me disappointed in myself. My action has been very traumatic for me, my family and, I am sure, for many of us. And I trust that we will never experience such again.”
While appreciating his family and the leadership of the church for the moral, physical, and spiritual support he received since his trial, he suddenly declared to step down from his pastoral duties, stating that the decision is for him to reflect and heal.
According to him, the decision was taken after due consultation with the church leadership.
“I want to thank you all for your prayers, love, empathy, goodwill messages, and emotional support during this traumatic period. As Christians, time is of such trial that I have presently experienced, learning opportunities to grow in grace. I appreciate the love of our heavenly Father who never leaves us nor forsakes us. He has promised us that no matter what happens, he will always be with us.
“To this end, I have consulted as necessary and with acceptable guidance from the senior leadership of the Church. And I would like to humbly ask for your permission to take some time to pray, meditate, reflect, and also to heal from all of the things that happened and its consequence. Notwithstanding, I will always be in church on Sundays and Wednesdays to worship with you.
“Let me say that I bear no grudge against anybody in my heart. If I have offended you, please forgive me. God is God and He will always remain our Father.
“So let’s remain resolute in our faith and trust in God. Let’s continue to labor in the house and not allow the enemies to deter us in any way. I also believe God for a peaceful election on Saturday and the weeks after that,” he urged.
After he finished, the entire congregation rose to clap and applaud him while some walked up to him to reassure him that the storm is over.
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