A major Nigerian pentecostal preacher has vowed to continue holding Sunday service for thousands of his followers, spurning worldwide medical advisory against physical contact at a time of blazing coronavirus.
David Oyedepo brushed aside the potential hazards of his decision to defy government restrictions on social gatherings across Nigeria, saying some members would rather look up to Sunday service as the only viable means of treatment against COVID-19, a strain of coronavirus that has killed more than 15,000 people and left tens of thousands bedridden across the world.
“Shutting down churches would be like shutting down hospitals,” Mr Oyedepo said during March 22 Sunday service that streamed live online. “There are many, many places that would never have any medical solution but in church.”
Mr Oyedepo held the service at the headquarters of his Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel) on the outskirts of Lagos on Sunday morning, the same day that Nigeria’s coronavirus infections jumped to 30 and health experts were raising alarm about the importance of social distancing.
A police spokesperson told the media officers showed up to ask Mr Oyedepo not to hold service for the health benefit of his members and society, but he proceeded nonetheless.
The preacher held two services within hours apart even though the government had placed an indefinite moratorium on religious gathering amidst scramble to contain the spread of the virus.
The service in Sango-Ota, which falls under Ogun State but keeps a close proximity with the nation’s commercial capital, held without provision of hand sanitisers to members, according to two people who attended.
“They also did not check for our temperature before hundreds of us went into the church for service,” Tunmise Ogunlolu, a member of the church, said, “But everyone was visibly afraid throughout the service.”
Ms Ogunlolu said she and many others attended the programme to see whether Mr Oyedepo would announce indefinite suspension of service pending the containment of COVID-19, “but I was not too disappointed that he did not postpone.”
“The anointing that we received at church yesterday was very important to myself and other members,” she added. “But I am not sure I will take the risk again next week.”
Another member who attended the service said it was “obviously scanty.”
Winners Chapel boasts of some of the largest congregations in Nigeria. Its headquarters can hold as many as 250,000 people during overflow, and Mr Oyedepo himself has once been listed amongst world’s richest pastors by Forbes, Reuters reported. The church also has hundreds of other branches in Nigeria and other countries.
Although the headquarters, officially dubbed Canaan Land by the church, had long assumed a community of its own, some of its administrative functions are still subject to state and federal laws in Nigeria.
Yet, the church was left out when law enforcement authorities besieged worship centres across Lagos and Ogun to enforce social distancing measures on Sunday. Several churches were closed in downtown Lagos and some communities in Ogun for apparent violation of a widely publicised ban on gatherings of more than 50 persons. The number has been reviewed downward to only 20 in Lagos.
But the fear of security agencies to enforce the ban at Canaan Land might not be unconnected with Mr Oyedepo’s towering influence and friendship with political bigwigs across the country.
Winners Chapel appeared to be the only church in its category that held service against public health directive on Sunday. A cascade of Sunday service cancelations began amongst other mega and minor pentecostal churches across the country following meetings with state governments throughout the week.
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