The presiding pastor of House on the Rock Abuja, Pastor Uche Aigbe, has tendered an unreserved apology to his congregation and the entire Nigerians for mounting the pulpit with an unloaded AK-47.
A remorseful Aigbe said he was disappointed in himself for not considering the consequence of bringing the firearm to illustrate a passage in the scripture before taking the decision.
Aigbe addressed his congregation midway through the Sunday Service that the traumatic experience he had in the last one week had given him a lot of concerns.
While apologising for the embarrassment his action had caused the church, he admitted guilt 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 a part of, where I used an unloaded firearm to illustrate some texts from the Bible regarding the good fight of faith.
“Of course, like 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 ever 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 started, the presiding pastor suddenly announced that he would be withdrawing from his pastoral assignments to reflect over the events of the past week and for healing.
According to him, the decision was taken after due consultation with the church leadership.
Aigbe also used the opportunity to pray for a peaceful and violence-free election.
“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 labour 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 clapping and applauding him.
