Suspected Arsonists Raze Church In Ilorin

A Living Faith Church on  Airport Road, Ilorin, was on Wednesday set ablaze by  suspected  arsonists, destroying  property worth  millions of naira.

The Provincial Pastor of the church,  Timothy Olaniyan,  told  the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin that he got a distress call informing him about the incident around  5a.m.

NAN gathered that  the church  and a group had been engaged in a squabble over the ownership of the land.

Olaniyan claimed  that Prof. Ish’aq Oloyede,  the Co-Secretary of  the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC),  had visited the site with some members of the group.

“We had  reported the matter to the Commissioner of Police and written a letter to Governor Abdulfattah Ahmed, who directed his Deputy Chief of Staff, Mr Leke Ogungbe,  to handle the matter.

“Also, one Sharia Court judge, Alhaji Saliu Mohammed,  came and said the Emir of Ilorin instructed him to mediate in the matter in order to ensure peace.

“At about 8 p.m on Monday, we noticed some strange people flashing torch light at the church  from a distance.

“Again,  we reported to the police only for us to wake up to see a burnt church on Wednesday morning,’’  he said.

Ogungbe,  who visited the scene,  appealed for calm and urged the church members not to embark on a reprisal attack.

He gave an assurance  that government would ensure security of lives and property in the state.

The Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media, Dr Muyideen Akorede, also  told NAN that government had  directed  security agents to investigate the incident with a view to allowing  the law to take its course.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Abdul Dube, told NAN that the police officer in charge of the case was still compiling his report.

He said the police would  make their  report public  after the investigation.

Meanwhile, the Kwara chapters of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) have condemned  the burning of  the church.

CAN Secretary in the state, Rev. Cornelius Fawenu,  told NAN that the association would demand that justice be done.

The NLC chairman in the state, Umar Akanbi, also described the incident as unfortunate, saying:  “We don’t need this kind of thing in Kwara State.’’

Akanbi , who spoke to NAN, called on  the state government to investigate the arson and prosecute those culpable  in accordance with the laws of the country.

The NLC boss called for  religious tolerance and understanding between adherents of the different religions.

In his  reaction, the Chairman of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Kwara chapter, Shakir Akorode,  said it was dastardly for  anyone  to burn down a sacred place of worship.

“I don’t believe that any sane person would commit  such a dastardly act. I am sure the fire outbreak is an accident.

“In Kwara State, everybody lives in harmony with one another. Government should investigate the fire and fish out the culprits, ’’  Akorode said.

He, however, called  on  youths in the state not to take  the law into their hands.