As the second phase of eased lockdown occasioned by the coronavirus
pandemic ends today, the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and
Midwives has said the reopening of religious centres in the country
should be gradual.
Already, religious groups, including the Christian Association of
Nigeria and the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, have been
meeting government in preparation for the reopening of churches and
mosques.
In an interview with The Punch, NANNM President, Abdulrafiu Adeniji,
said, “In the first instance, they (churches and mosques) are expected
to be partners of progress with the government. A religious organisation
(in the United States) went to court against the government and it
lost. There is no way it could say the government should not try as much
as possible to enforce public health law.”
“If the religious institutions are opened, we must know the limits and
provide all the things that are expected to be provided. It is not a
matter of multitudes just rushing in. It has to be bit by bit,” he
added.
The US Supreme Court, on Friday, turned away a request from a church in
California to block enforcement of state restrictions on attendance at
religious services.
