Nigerian nurses seek gradual reopening of churches, mosques

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.