14:I[76937,["9344","static/chunks/9081a741-c61dd986cfa0c828.js","6408","static/chunks/00cbbcb7-c04264a14f470d4a.js","8173","static/chunks/8173-fc6c345d757cc6f6.js","7970","static/chunks/7970-6e0129b3de8ddbd6.js","3539","static/chunks/3539-02bf90933f94c836.js","6937","static/chunks/6937-3bd12da95143b93b.js","8827","static/chunks/app/(dashboard)/account/news/%5Bid%5D/edit/page-ce509fe7e2acda80.js"],"UpdateNewsForm"] 15:T5ec,

Nigerian Christians under the banner of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) have demanded the reversal of the ban on Pentecostal churches by the government of neighbouring Cameroon.

Several of the affected churches are Nigerian-owned, among them the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) and Winners Chapel.

CAN, however, “called for caution between Cameroonian Christians and the government in that country following the nation’s President Paul Biya’s order which led to the closure of nearly 100 Christian churches in key cities,” reports the Ibadan-based Saturday Tribune.

President Biya was reported to have cited criminal practices organised by Pentecostal pastors that threatened the security of the West African nation, Saturday Tribune reported.

It said that reacting to the issue, “Reverend Ladi Thompson, who is the Special Adviser to the CAN president on terrorism and allied issues, called for calm among the body of Christ in Cameroon, just as he urged the government to rescind the decree.”

The paper quoted Thompson as stating that “such things should be handled with a lot of caution by all sides. It is not a time of flaring up tempers. It is a time for calm and the call for carefulness in making decisions that have far-reaching effects. If things get out of hand, the damage will become irreversible.”

•Photo shows CAN President Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor.

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