Sierra Leone have arrested a Nigerian pastor for comments he made against Islam in the country.
Victor Ajisafe, a popular Nigerian pastor based in Sierra Leone, was arrested after recordings of a sermon targeting Muslims went viral on social media.
According to the Guardian, Ajisafe, who founded and heads The Sanctuary Praise Church, one of the country’s largest churches, while speaking to his congregants called Islam a “violent religion of lies and deceit,” adding that Muslims have been responsible for “every terrorist act in the history of the world.”
According to a 2015 Pew Research Center estimate, Sierra Leone's population is roughly 78% Muslim.
Audio and video recordings of the sermon appeared online within three days, and were met with immediate and near-universal condemnation by both Muslims and Christians in the country.
The pastor was arrested on Tuesday, but has not yet been charged.
Head of Sierra Leone’s Criminal Investigations Department, MB Kamara, said, “Everyone is very upset by his message.
“We are a very religiously tolerant country and no one ever worries whether someone is Muslim or Christian. We all have lived peacefully for generations, and no one wants that disrupted.”
An initial press release from the social welfare ministry said Ajisafe was being held for his own protection.
And Kamara added that Ajisafe would be held until a charge against him could be determined.