The Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Community Engagement (North Central), Abiodun Esset has urged residents of Kogi and Kwara states to suspend prayers held on mountains.
Residents refer to such places as ‘Ori Oke,’ a Yoruba word meaning ‘mountain top’. Some religious people visit such places for special prayers because they believe it brings them closer to God.
Esset gave the advice in a statement on Monday amidst the worsening security situation there.
“The Office of the SSA to the President on Community Engagement, North Central, has appealed to residents and religious groups in Kwara and Kogi States to temporarily suspend Ori Oke prayer gatherings until the security situation in the affected areas stabilises.
“The Office noted that God is omnipotent and can be worshipped anywhere, stressing that mountains and forests have increasingly become hideouts for bandits and criminal elements, thereby posing security risks to worshippers and communities.”
Kwara and Kogi, two states in north-central Nigeria, have experienced several cases of attacks by armed groups, which have led to the deaths and kidnapping of many residents.
