The Federal Government on Friday cautioned religious leaders against holding Easter services and Friday Jumat in defiance of the stay-at-home order to contain the spread of the deadly Coronavirus pandemic.
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture and a member of the Presidential Task Force for the Control of Coronavirus gave the warning on Nigeria Television Authority’s programme: “Good Morning Nigeria.”
The Minister, who was giving update on the activities of the Task Force, decried the situation where some section of Nigerians are disobeying the lockdown directives by the government to contain the disease.
Mohammed said: “What we have today is that some people are not obeying the directive and they are still congregating.
‘I hear some religious leaders are saying that nobody can prevent them from conducting their Jumat and Easter Service.
“You therefore begin to wonder if they are true Christians or true Muslims.
“If they are true Christians, where do they take their compass from?
“Is it from the Queen who is the head of the Anglican Church or the Pope who is the head of the Catholic Church because we know their positions on the Coronavirus.
“People cannot be more Catholic than the Pope and be more Muslim than Prophet Muhammed.
“If Saudi Arabia can stop Umrah, which annually attracts about seven million religious tourists and adherents, and say you don’t have to come for prayers, who are they to call for congregation?
“Even the Pope has to give his homily through television and online.
“Then what is our problem?”
The Minister said the government understood that issues of religion are very sensitive and the government will continue to engage religious leaders.

Source- eagleonline