A Polaris Bank senior manager is currently under fire for stopping Muslim staff in her unit from perform Friday prayers as against Islamic practice.
In an email sent to the staff, one of the bank’s supervising staff, Damilola Adebara, notified them that the bank does not have a policy that allows any employee to go for religious activities while still in office.
The email suggested that the staff are working under its YES centre, a branch of its customer service.
The mail read in part: “Dear All, It has been observed that on Fridays, you leave your work desks to attend the Jumat service bearing in mind the impact of your absence on the work flow and productivity of Yes Center.”
“Kindly note that there is no provision made anywhere in the Bank’s policy for employees to attend any religious activities during work hours. Going forward such permissions would not be granted on the Yes Center platform and any infraction of this directive would be dealt with accordingly. You are all expected to acknowledge the receipt of this mail. Thank you.”
But the bank has disowned the email in a statement, saying it was not from management but the personal opinion of the sender.
While stating that it adheres to Nigeria being a secular state, it said no policy of the bank prohibits religious freedom.
“The attention of the Bank has been drawn to a shared screenshot of mail sent by a supervisor to staff in her department in respect of Friday prayers.”
“This is to clarify that Nigeria is a secular nation and our Bank is guided by this standard. Accordingly, there is no policy in the Bank that forbids staff from practicing the religion of their choice; hence the said staff had acted in ignorance and we have since addressed the issue internally.”
“We assure all staff, customers, and the public that we will continue to respect the fundamental rights and freedom of worship of every employee.”
This development has generated controversy on social media as reactions from users have continued to trail the issue.
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