Buhari stated this in a statement on Wednesday by his spokesman, Garba Shehu, while referring to the massacre in a church in Owo, Ondo State, and killings and kidnappings in Kaduna State.

The President said it was clear that there’s a design by wicked people to put the country under religious stress

According to him, religious freedom and diversity is what makes Nigeria great.

“It is this diversity that gives Nigeria its strength. That is why Nigeria’s enemies seek to destroy it, by putting us against one another.

“We will not let them. The nation will not be distracted or divided by these obviously planned and politically motivated criminal outrages.”

The President called the perpetrators cowards, weak and wicked men with guns murdering, in cold blood, unarmed women and children at their places of worship.

“Seeing the crowd of Nigerians voluntarily rushing to donate blood after the attack, thronging the local hospitals, even in the midst of mourning, I was proud of my country. I was filled with hope.

“As for the cowards, they will be punished for their crimes. We will bring them to justice.”

Buhari appealed to Nigerians to come together in prayer – whether Christian, Muslim or any of our great faiths.

He charged citizens to continue to cherish “what we share while respecting each other’s differences”.

“Let us show them that Nigerians will never be bullied by cowards, extremists or terrorists”, the statement added.

The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Chikwe Ihekweazu disclosed this during the weekly briefing of the task force in Abuja on Monday.

According to Ihekweazu, Christmas carols, travels and other gatherings during the festive season, could turn out to be “super spreaders” of the coronavirus.

“This is really to re-emphasise the call by the PTF that many of the traditional meetings that we engage in at this time of the year, whether they are Christmas carols or festivals, trips, family gatherings, each of those could end up being a super spreader event.

“So, we must take this into consideration as we make our choices.”

The PTF National Coordinator, Sank Aliyu also advised Nigerians outside the country to remain wherever they are and not plan to come home for Christmas celebration.

He said, “Nigerians outside the country, hopefully they will stay where they are. And for Nigerians in-country, we will also stay where we are.

The national coordinator disclosed that for every 1,000 passengers coming into the country, the nation records 10 positive cases of COVID-19.

He added, “Please, for this period, if your travel is not essential, stay where you are. We are actively discouraging Nigerians abroad from coming home this Christmas because of COVID-19 and the number of infections we have outside the country.

“So, the message is; if you do not want to get stranded, if you do not want to bring COVID-19 to your elderly relatives in Nigeria, please stay where you are. There will be other holidays.”

Sanwo-Olu disclosed this during a briefing on COVID-19 at the State House in Marina.

The governor said mosques will be reopened next week Friday, while churches will follow suit on Sunday, August 9.

Sanwo-Olu, however, said part of the regulations is that religious leaders must make available hand sanitisers, thermometer guns, adding that the state government will ensure that social distancing is maintained.

“Places of worship in Lagos will now be opened from Friday, August 7 for our Muslim worshippers and on Sunday, August 9 for our Christian worshippers.

“We will only be allowing 50 per cent of their capacity at either the church or the mosque. Churches that have Saturday worship day will also be allowed to start holding their Saturday worship.

“We must reiterate that places of worship are only permitted to have their regular once a week service on designated days.

For the avoidance of doubt, there will be Friday worship for our Muslim followers and Sunday worship for our Christian followers,” he said.

The governor vowed that the state government will closely monitor and observe the compliance level of religious bodies before taking the next steps.

In the same vein, the Governor also increased public gatherings capacity from 20 to 50 people.

Sanwo-Olu, however, said Night clubs in the state remain shut, adding that restaurants can now operate eat-in services from Friday, August 14.

Sanwo-Olu also confirmed that students in exit classes across the state will also resume on Monday, August 3.

This is as a state government delegation visited churches and mosques in Egba Ijebu and Remo areas of the State to ascertain their level of preparedness.

Recall in March, the Federal government declared a total lockdown of the country including churches and mosques so as to curb spread of coronavirus pandemic.

The Federal Government has since lifted the restriction on worship centres across the nation after the relaxation of lockdown.

But, Gov Dapo Abiodun, said worship centres in Ogun should remain closed due to the rise in cases of COVID-19 in the State.

However, responding to calls by residents for the reopening of religious centres, the government said it met with religious leaders to observe their level of compliance with COVID-19 guidelines.

On Wednesday, a delegation, which comprised the State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker; the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Tunde Odunlami, as well as the Environment Commissioner, Abiodun Abudu-Balogun, met with religious leaders.

The government representatives also inspected the preventive measures put in place by respective faith-based organisations.

Worship centers visited included the Redemption Camp; Ijebu-Ode Central Mosque; St Sebastine’s Catholic Church, Ijebu-Ode; Sagamu Central Mosque; Ibara Baptist Church; Headquarters of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries; Cathedral Church of St. Peter, Ake; Ansar-u-deen Central Mosque, Adedotun, among others.

Recall that the Governor had earlier back in a broadcast announced that Religious centres are to reopen on 19 and 21 of June 2020 respectfully.

However, the Governor noted that to continue the lockdown of religious centres is due to the rise in the community transmission and spread of COVID-19 in the state, meanwhile, Lagos state on Tuesday also suspended its plan to reopen religious centres for the same reason.

Abiodun made this announcement while briefing journalists in Abeokuta on Friday.

The governor in his speech also said that the government might be forced to ban commercial motorcycles popularly know as Okada from operating in the State.

He said the threat to ban commercial motorcyclists, popularly known as Okada riders, is because of their flagrant disobedience to the COVID-19 restriction order.

“Okada riders are to carry one passenger. But motorcyclists are breaking this law and I want to state emphatically that we will not hesitate to ban all okada motorcyclists from operating in our state if our resolve his further put to test.

“If I continue to see Okada riders flouting this law, I will not hesitate to ban the operation of okada in this state henceforth,” he said.

The Governor said the current ease of lockdown in the state should be maintained.

“There will be no movement on Saturday and Sunday, while churches and mosques should remain under lock and key.

“In the same vein, the ban on interstate travel continues as the dusk to dawn curfew also remains,” he said.