Should prayers be permitted in government offices during work hours?
“We recited Hail Mary, and then they called an alfa (Islamic cleric) to pray.”
Reactions have trailed the viral video of Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) officials conducting prayer sessions during work hours.
The founder of So Fresh food company, Olagoke Balogun, was bewildered when he got to the NIS passport office in Alausa on Wednesday at about 7:30am and was ordered to join the prayer session around 9am. The official resumption time was 8am.
“We recited Hail Mary, and then they called an alfa (Islamic cleric) to pray,” he said in a tweet.
The tweet sparked furious reactions from Nigerians.
One Twitter user urged NIS to take action by suspending or sacking all the officials involved in the morning devotion.
“This is WRONG. Office resumes by 08:00 AM for services to be rendered to customers/Nigerians paying for the services and not for prayers,” he said. “What good has their prayer done? Will the same officers/persons not come back to extort, insult and misrepresent thei…
