COVID-19: Chukwuma says he didn’t dare govt, police over closure of churches in Enugu

The Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical Province, Emmanuel Chukwuma, has denied media reports that he said that the Province will not shut any of its branches over Coronovirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Addressing newsmen at the Government House, Enugu after a closed- door meeting with Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and the State Commissioner of Police, CP Ahmad Abdurrahman, Chukwuma, said he was “very embarrassed to read the story in the newspaper and the social media.

He described the story as “untrue and misleading”.

The Archbishop who stated categorically that he did not dare the government or the security agencies as was erroneously reported said “all I said was that the church is not the building but the people praying; and people who are church members cannot be shut down in praying in their various homes”.

The Cleric said  “it had already been agreed in Enugu State that all churches should be closed down and we have been observing it”.

Declaring his support for the state government’s proactive safety measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, Chukwuma reiterated that he was misquoted and misinterpreted in the media and encouraged the congregations to remain in their houses and pray.

“The building may be shut but the church is not closed because people are praying in their various houses but are not allowed to come to the church building to pray, except the priests and the bishops” he said adding that ” I want to let the people, Nigerians and the whole world to know that it not true that I dared the government or that I dared the police”.

In his brief remark, the Commissioner of Police, CP Ahmed Abdurrahman, expressed delight with Chukkwuma for denying the news making the rounds that he dared the government and threatened the police over the closure of churches in the state.

He encouraged everybody to obey the preventive protocol and other safety measures adopted to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the state, in the overall interest of the public and country.