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Tag: Church

  • Man, 20, docked for allegedly stealing church property

    Man, 20, docked for allegedly stealing church property

    A 20-year-old man, Samuel Gabriel, on Wednesday appeared before a Surulere Chief Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, for allegedly stealing church property valued at N145,000.
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    Gabriel, a resident of Sanya, in Surulere, Lagos, pleaded not guilty to the charge of stealing brought against him.‎

    The Prosecutor, Sgt. Christopher Okoliko, told the court that the accused committed the offence at No. 46, Sanya St., Aguda, Surulere, Lagos, on Dec. 30, 2016.‎
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    Okoliko said that a representative of Destiny Chapel Church, Aguda, Surulere, reported at the station that the accused, a former member of the church, carried out the act.

    According to him, the representative said that the accused came to the church and stole an amplifier valued at N70,000 and a Piano worth N75,000.
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    The prosecutor said that the offence contravened Section 124 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2011.‎

    The Chief Magistrate, Mrs M.I. Dan-Oni, granted the accused N50,000 bail with one surety in like sum.
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    Dan-Oni said the surety must be employed, produce evidence of tax payment to the Lagos State Government, and have his address verified.‎

    She adjourned the case till Feb. 2 for mention.

  • Collapsed Reigners church not built to specification, says witness

    Collapsed Reigners church not built to specification, says witness

    Architect Abimbola Oke, has said that Reigners Bible Church, Uyo, which collapsed on Dec. 10, 2016 was not built according to its original design.

    Oke, who designed the original structure of the building, made this known when he testified on Monday in Uyo in the ongoing Commission of Inquiry into the Collapsed Reigners Bible Church.

    He also denied supervising the building of the project contrary to evidence given by Apostle Akan Weeks earlier when he was cross-examined last week.

    Oke, who is also a lecturer at the University of Uyo, said that coupled with his tight schedule, he could not have time to supervise the building.

    “To the best of my knowledge Apostle Akan Weeks did not follow the original design as submitted.

    “I shall request the Commission of Inquiry to visit the site of the proposed Reigners Bible Church at Uyo village road to reconcile the facts on ground to the building design submitted.

    “What was implemented did not reflect what I designed.

    “I observed that not all the structural elements had been put in place, the gallery floor was not there,” Oke said.

    He added that there was an alteration on the structure that collapsed and the structure designed.

    Oke also denied redesigning the building plan apart from the original design submitted to Akan Weeks.

    The architect also revealed that, he did not developed any work plan for the building as alleged by one of the witness, Mr Anietie Ndarake.

    According to him, work plan is a schedule of work to be carried out with time frame and must be in writing.

    Oke explained that Weeks specifically instructed him to draw for him, a 5, 000 capacity auditorium with round or octagonal shape, adding that the plan was accepted as designed.

    When asked why he did not supervise the building, Oke replied that the church building committee said they would do the supervision.

    He said, “When I presented the building plan to Weeks in presence of the Church building Committee, they gave me the impression that the building will be supervised by the Church Building Committee.”

    Oke alleged that he was disappointed and betrayed by Weeks for saying during cross-examination that he (Oke) was a supervisor to the collapsed building when he was not.

    According to him, he designed the building free of charge for Weeks, which would have cost N11.5 million.

    Earlier in his testimony, Mr Uwem Okoko of Hensek Integrated Services Ltd., told the commission that Weeks removed the scaffold against his professional advice.

    Okoko, whose company undertook the landscaping of Reigners bible church, said that he heard of the removal of the scaffold through one of the site engineer Mr Stephen Alawi.

    Speaking to newsmen, Counsel to Okoko, Mr Akpakan Okoho, alleged that Weeks lied against his client.

    Okoho said that his client had warned Weeks on the danger of removing centre scaffold that were used to support the building.

    Okoho said Weeks did not retain his client as the contractor to supervise the building as he alleged during his testimony.

    The Chairman of the Commission, retired Justice Umoekeyo Essang, adjourned sitting to Jan. 17, for more testimonies.

  • Cold Weather: Queen Elizabeth misses Christmas, New Year church services

    Cold Weather: Queen Elizabeth misses Christmas, New Year church services

     

    Britain’s Queen Elizabeth missed a New Year’s Day church service on Sunday due to a heavy cold, Buckingham Palace said, a week after the 90-year-old monarch missed a Christmas Day service for the first time in decades.

    The world’s longest-reigning monarch, who became unwell before Christmas, stayed indoors at her Sandringham country estate in Norfolk, eastern England, while other members of the royal family attended the service.

    “The Queen does not yet feel ready to attend church as she is still recuperating from a heavy cold,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

    Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip, 95, were both suffering from heavy colds in the week leading up to Christmas and delayed their journey from London to Sandringham by a day, travelling there by helicopter on Dec. 22.

    Philip attended both the Christmas and New Year services. On Sunday he arrived by car before walking into the grey stone parish church of St. Mary Magdalene, but the queen, who is the symbolic head of the Church of England, made no public appearance.

    A few dozen parishioners and a crowd of photographers had gathered outside the church on Sunday morning in cold, rainy weather as other members of the royal family arrived.

    The queen’s daughter, Anne, and her third son, Edward, were among those who attended.

    Elizabeth had previously attended the Christmas service at the church every year since the royal family started celebrating Christmas at Sandringham in 1988.

    After more than six decades on the throne, the queen has cut back on international tours but still regularly performs official duties around Britain.

    The palace announced on Dec. 20 she would step down as patron of several charities and other organizations to reduce her workload.

    While Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, died at the relatively young age of 56, her mother, known as Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, lived until 101 and was still appearing in public almost up until her death in 2002.

    Elizabeth has maintained the popularity of the monarchy despite years of political, social and cultural change since she became queen on Feb. 6, 1952, aged just 25

  • Stop worshipping God inside buildings under construction – CAN warns churches

    Stop worshipping God inside buildings under construction – CAN warns churches

    The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has advised churches across the country to stop worshipping God inside buildings under construction in order to avert avoidable tragedies like that which occurred at the Reigners Bible Church Int’l Inc, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, last Saturday.

    A statement by the General Secretary of CAN, Dr. Musa Asake, lamented the disaster and advised every Christian to identify with the victims through prayers, gifts and condolence visits.

    He said, “We advise churches to discourage the idea of holding worship service inside buildings under construction to avoid a repeat of the avoidable tragedy. We call on the NSE and other relevant bodies to check the construction of buildings with substandard materials.

    “Until severe sanctions are meted out to those who are responsible, they may not be able to stop their satanic antics. We identify with the victims of the tragedy, we pray for their quick recovery as we are asking God to console and comfort all the bereaved. It is very unfortunate that the devil struck when the whole world is getting ready for the celebration of the birth of the Saviour, Jesus Christ, who came to destroy the work of the devil.

    “We thank God that His Excellency, Governor Udom Emmanuel, narrowly escaped the tragedy and we welcome his prompt intervention when he said the state government will hold an inquiry to investigate if anyone compromised building standards.”

    Asake recalled the spate of collapsed buildings in the country and called on the relevant agencies to stem the tide.

    “It is no more news that buildings often collapse in the country as a result of contractors using substandard materials coupled with people building without government approvals and thorough supervision by the relevant agencies,” Asake said.

    According to him, Christians all over the world should join “us in praying for the victims that survived the incident and the families of the bereaved.”

  • Cairo church bombing claims 25, several injured

    Cairo church bombing claims 25, several injured

    …bombing raises fears among christians

    A bombing at Cairo’s largest Coptic cathedral killed at least 25 people and wounded 49, many of them women and children attending Sunday mass, in the deadliest attack on Egypt’s Christian minority in years.

    The attack comes as President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi fights battles on several fronts. His economic reforms have angered the poor, a bloody crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood has seen thousands jailed, whilst an insurgency rages in Northern Sinai, led by the Egyptian branch of Islamic State.

    The militant group has also carried out deadly attacks in Cairo and has urged its supporters to launch attacks around the world in recent weeks as it goes on the defensive in its Iraqi and Syrian strongholds.

    There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but exiled Brotherhood officials and home-grown militant groups condemned the attack. Islamic State supporters celebrated on social media.

    “God bless the person who did this blessed act,” wrote one supporter on Telegram.

    The explosion took place in a chapel, which adjoins St Mark’s, Cairo’s main cathedral and the seat of Coptic Pope Tawadros II, where security is normally tight.

    The United States said it “will continue to work with its partners to defeat such terrorist acts” and that it was committed to Egypt’s security, according to a White House statement on Sunday.

    The UN Security Council urged “all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with all relevant authorities” to hold those responsible accountable.

    At the Vatican, Pope Francis condemned what he called the latest in a series of “brutal terrorist attacks” and said he was praying for the dead and wounded.

    The chapel’s floor was covered in debris from shattered windows, its wooden pews blasted apart, its pillars blackened. Here and there lay abandoned shoes and sticky patches of blood.

    “As soon as the priest called us to prepare for prayer, the explosion happened,” Emad Shoukry, who was inside when the blast took place, told Reuters.

    “The explosion shook the place …the dust covered the hall and I was looking for the door, although I couldn’t see anything … I managed to leave in the middle of screams and there were a lot of people thrown on the ground.”

    Security sources told Reuters at least six children were among the dead, with the blast detonating on the side of the church normally used by women.

    They said the explosion was caused by a device containing at least 12 kg (26 pounds) of TNT.

    Police and armored vehicles rushed to the area, as hundreds of protesters gathered outside the compound demanding revenge for the attack that took place on a Muslim holiday marking the Prophet Mohammad’s birthday and weeks before Christmas. Scuffles broke out with police.

    A woman sitting near the cathedral in traditional long robes shouted, “kill them, kill the terrorists, what are you waiting for? … Why are you leaving them to bomb our homes?”

     

    Reuters

  • Buhari condoles with families of victims of Church building collapse in Uyo

    Buhari condoles with families of victims of Church building collapse in Uyo

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday night commiserated with the families of the victims of the tragic collapse of the Reigners Bible Church International, Uyo, Akwa Ibom.

    The President’s condolence message is contained in his twitter handle.

    President Buhari, who phoned Gov. Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom to commiserate with him on the tragic incident, asked him to convey to the people of the state “the deep sorrow felt by me, and by the entire country over this tragedy”.

    He said: “This evening I spoke with Gov. Udom Emmanuel to commiserate with him on the tragic collapse of the Reigners Bible Church in Uyo.

    “I asked the governor to convey to the people of Akwa Ibom state the deep sorrow felt by me, and by the entire country over this tragedy.

    “I pray that the souls of the deceased will rest in peace, and that the injured will experience quick recovery.

    “Any tragedy that affects any part of Nigeria affects all of us. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the people of Akwa Ibom.”

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a number of deaths had been reported while many of the church members injured as a result of the church building collapse in Uyo.

    Mr Ekerette Udoh,Personal Assistant to Gov. Udm Emmanuel (information), in a statement issued on Saturday, said the governor was present at the Reigners Bible Church International when it collapsed.

    According to him, the governor personally supervised rescue operations and evacuation of the injured to the hospital.

    Udoh said the state government would constitute a high-powered panel of enquiry to ascertain the immediate and remote factors leading to the collapse of the church building.

  • In photos: Collapsed church building in Akwa Ibom

    In photos: Collapsed church building in Akwa Ibom

    A church building in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State on Saturday collapsed during the consecration of its pastor as a Bishop, leaving many worshippers trapped.

  • Many feared dead as church collapses during service in Akwa Ibom

    Many feared dead as church collapses during service in Akwa Ibom

    A church building belonging to Reigners Bible Church has collapsed in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, with many feared dead.

    The Reigners Bible Church, located along Uyo Village Road, was filled to capacity because its pastor was being consecrated as a Bishop, when the tragedy occurred, witnesses said.

    “Pastor Akan Week was being consecrated today so the programme was holding inside the Church when suddenly, the whole building collapsed,” one witness said.

    The witness said the Church was being renovated and upgraded because of the expected high number of guests on Saturday.

    “Many people are buried under the debris as emergency workers continue rescue exercise,” he said.

    Governor Udom Emmanuel was expected to attend the occasion, but, sources said he was not at the church when it collapsed.

    “The governor has gone to the scene and is presently there helping with the rescue,” a witness said.

    Our sources said many victims have been taken to various hospitals and mortuaries in the town.

    A source at one of the hospitals, Premier Hospital, said many of the injured were taken there and were receiving medical attention.

    A police spokesperson who sounded emotional when contacted by phone, said she could not speak on the matter immediately.

    “You need to be here to witness it, there is so much confusion,” she simply said.