International
KILLINGS/INSECURITY: DEFEND YOURSELVES, CHURCHES
Christian Association Of Nigeria (CAN)
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) yesterday called on Christian faithful to defend themselves and the church in the face of unending killings in the country. This is coming as the Nigerian Baptist Covention (NBC) yesterday joined the ground swell of opposition against the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari telling the president to sack his service chiefs or forget about 2019.
CAN had earlier on Thursday in a statement by its President, Rev. Samson Ayokunle, urged Christians in Nigeria to hold peaceful protests in order to call the attention of Federal Government and security agencies to the unending killings in the country. Ayokunle, who is also the President of the Nigerian Baptist Convention (NBC) while speaking in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, where he presided over the 105th session of the NBC, noted that the call for Christians to carry out protests within their churches tomorrow is to prevent more causalities and more sorrow across the land, explaining that the directive is guided by the need to be circumspective as security operatives could be overzealous and mete out inhuman treatment to the faithful.
“The protest is within churches vicinities, we did that because we need to be circumspective. These are security agencies that you can’t trust. If we can trust them, the rate of insecurity we have today would not be there because they would have acted decisively. “You know that they are overzealous and instead of arresting criminals, it is people that are acting within their rights that they would be arresting when they don’t have any weapon.
“You are aware of the Shi’ite protests in Abuja of recent, when they (security agencies) are attacking you, you can never be right. They know how to rope you in and tell all sorts of things and make you look like a criminal. But it is the right of every person to a peaceful protest. “So, we can’t trust them to respect human rights in Nigeria, therefore, I won’t want them to add more sorrow.
The whole idea is to prevent Asked while CAN is not lending it voice to Catholic Bishops call for Buhari’s resignation and for the people to defend themselves instead of the protest, Ayokunle said CAN fully supports the call as it has in the past made such calls. “The Catholic Bishops have made their call and we have also made our call. In addition to our protest we have also called for similar actions in the past and even now. We are tired of press releases that they would not do anything about,’’ said Ayokunle.
“There is nothing in the Catholic release that we have not said before if you go and check all my releases in the past. There is nothing specifically new in what the Catholic Bishops said that we have not said before. “We are just arising from the close of the 105th session of the Nigerian Baptist Convention (NBC) in Port Harcourt where in our communiqué, we said that all the security chiefs should be relieved of their posts and if the president can’t provide security, he should forget about any campaign for 2019 because we can’t continue with this type of life in 2019,’’ disclosed Ayokunle.
Nigeria on the verge of war -CAN
In the same vein, the CAN national leadership led by its Secretary General, Rev. Musa Asaka, also called on the president to forthwith arrest the prevailing situation, which the body said had taken Nigeria back to the dark ages.
According to Asake, President Buhari was more interested in his re-election bid for next year than in the protection of lives and properties of Nigerians, insisting that the President is not worried by the rising figures of death across the countries, who are now being used as sacrificial lambs to enthrone the president’s ambition. While chronicling in a very emotive manner the series of deaths and destruction that have been visited on the Nigerians by Boko Haram and those killers alleged to be Fulani herders, the CAN Secretary General said Buhari had only succeeded within the three years of his regime to bring Nigeria back to the dark ages, cautioning that the country is on the verge of war.
“War seems to be looming in Nigeria while the aggressors are no other than misguided individuals who had been armed to provoke different communities into needless battles. Yet, President Buhari, who was popularly elected in 2015, has not seen the need and urgency to issue a presidential order on the need to halt the killings and with stern instruction to heads of security operatives to bring perpetrators to book.
“The Dark Age that has come with the administration of President Buhari in Nigeria is giving the Christians in this country a huge concern. All the same, Mr. President has his own interests, a key of which is to seek re-election to remain in power beyond 2019 and continue with the reign of terror in Nigeria. It does not matter how many Nigerians will end up as a sacrificial lamb on that single ambition.”
All not well with Nigeria –Northern CAN
Speaking on the issue yesterday, the Chairman of CAN in the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory, Rev. Dr. Yakubu Pam, said the directive given by the headquarters of CAN was to make it known to the world that all is not well with Nigeria. Rev. Pam while Speaking with Saturday Telegraph in Jos said:
“The protest will be done within every church area as prayers will centre on security. CAN expect all Christians in every state to mobilise their churches to take the rally serious. Let us tell the world all is not well with the Christian faith in Nigeria”. He urged Christians in the North “not to go to sleep over the security challenges facing them, but to defend their places of worship and avoid being attacked and killed by the enemies of Christian faith in the North.”
The cleric also condemned the killing of two Catholic Priests and 17 other church worshippers in Gwer Local government of Benue State by suspected Fulani herdsmen. “The leadership of CAN is shocked over the attack and killings of church worshipers during the early morning mass at a Catholic Church in Benue, at a time the Christian community in the North has gone into prayers for peace to return to restive parts of the state that have suffered losses as a result of attacks and killings by herdsmen in recent times.”
The northern CAN leader called on the Federal Government to work round the clock to ensure the perpetrators of this evil acts are arrested and brought to justice. Rev. Pam who doubles as the Chairman of the Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board in Plateau State said ongoing attacks in places of worships in North if not checked by the government, was capable of plunging the entire northern states into religious crisis that would be difficult to manage. He appealed to the people to keep faith in God while assuring them that the Supreme Being would soon expose those bent on causing mayhem in the North.
Oyo CAN: We are on 3-day prayer
On its part, the Oyo State chapter of CAN said its understanding of the directive is that it is a national prayer meant to pray for the peace of the nation on April 27, 28 and 29, which had started. According to the state chairman, Pastor Benjamin Akanmu, the three-day prayer has been chosen by the national body of CAN to pray for absolute and perfect control of the country and the release of the last Dapchi girl, Leah Sharibu.
“We are praying for the safe release of Leah Sharibu, the Christian girl abducted from the Government Girls’ Technical Science College, Dapchi, Maiduguri, but not released along with her colleagues because she refused to drop her Christian faith Defend yourselves, churches, CAN tells Christians for Islam. “The issue of Leah is one of the issues facing and biting us seriously that we dedicate 27th, 28th and 29th of April for prayer on. That is the major focus of CAN prayer agenda this time around.
We want to suppress the Boko Haram problem rocking our country, as well as that of the herdsmen. “Two clergymen were recently killed in Benue, this is a great problem against Christians and CAN cannot just fold of arms and be looking. We have to pray fervently on it”, he said. On the mode the prayer sessions would take, the Oyo CAN boss said it would be difficult for all Christians to converge on a particular place, as such, the denominations had been advised to stay and pray within the premises of their respective churches. “Since CAN is composed of many denominations, we have sent out messages to our churches to pray. These include the C.A.C, Methodist, Baptist, white garment churches, pentecostal churches, Catholic and all others. Each denomination will pray in their churches.
We are not converging on a place. “Our message to President Muhammadu Buhari is in line with the advice the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar II, recently gave regarding the Meiyeti-Allah group. The government has all the machinery to suppress all these problems facing the country. “Our message is that the President should use all methods to do this so that we can have peace in our country. The Catholic Bishops have also told our president to resign if he cannot solve these problems.
We Christians are not just looking, and that is why we need to pray to have solutions. These are the messages contained in our prayer sessions which will be concluded on Sunday”, Pastor Akanmu.said.
Delta CAN: Nigeria now a killing field
The chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Delta state, Rev. Oyibo Gideon, has said members of the association will comply with directive tomorrow. Although he denied that it was a quit notice by Christians on President Muhammadu Buhari ahead of the 2019 general elections, he however maintained that it was a deliberate expression of dissatisfaction about the president’s style of leadership. He said:
“We didn’t give him a quit notice. The mourning protest is our way of expressing dissatisfaction. Any failure in the area of security is a failure by an incumbent government to fulfill its constitutional mandate and electoral promises to the people. So we are bound to comply with the directive.” “The daily killings in some parts of the country is an indication of the failure of the APC-led government.
As the Commanderin- Chief, President Buhari and his security chiefs have become helpless and do not seem to know what to do again to put an end to the spate of killings in the country.” For the Executive Assistant to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa on Religious Matters, Bishop Greatman Nmalagu, Nigeria has become a killing field under the Buhari government, hence something urgent must be done to rescue the country. According to him, CAN does not need to go violent over the killings of Christians across the country by herdsmen but should sensitise all followers of Christ to get their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) and be ready to vote him out in 2019.
No peace until Buhari is voted out –Asaba Anglican
Also reacting, the Anglican Bishop of Asaba Diocese, Rt. Rev. Justus Mogwekwu, said Buhari had not shown himself as being capable of living above ethnic and religious bigotry. What is happening in Benue and Taraba are calculated attempts to Islamise Nigeria and to destroy the Christianity.
“How can you otherwise explain that the same military personnel, the same security are collecting arms from people who want to defend themselves and leaving the gunmen, the notorious Fulani to move about freely? You weaken the power to resist and then strengthen the power to oppress.
“What is happening and what has happened in Benue State is a calculated attempt to destroy the Christian faith and impose Islam on the whole of Nigeria. Fulani issue is that of a long drawn plan to Islamise the whole of Nigeria. All coastlands, all forests, are all covered by Fulanis well-armed to the teeth. The government knows this and they know what to do and they don’t want to do it.
“When the President gave instruction to the IGP, did he really mean he wanted that man to obey him? Only to turn round and say he did not know that IGP did not obey his directive. Is that sign of a serious president? They know what they are doing. They said the Tivs were the people who resisted the spread of Islam down south and they have held that against them. “Now they have come to take their pound of flesh. What is happening now is simply a continuation of the Islamisation policy and they are seriously pursuing this agenda. “How can you go to a church and kill innocent worshippers and their priests and you tell people to fold their hands. Does that show that this government is serious about the lives and property of people? An ethnic group, Fulani, values the life of one cow over the lives of Nigerians.
“So, my opinion about this is that Buhari’s stay in office is a tragedy to Nigeria. Unless Nigerians rise against them and vote them out and restructure this country, we are not going to have peace in Nigeria.I can assure you that what happened in Benue will continue in other parts of Nigeria, they are not relenting and they will not relent. The power that should restrain them is very much in their favour.” The Bishop maintained that “It is satanic plan of the Islamic agenda to ruin this country. Let us restructure Nigeria, let everybody develop according to their own ability. Let people be armed to defend themselves. Danjuma did what he should have done, but it came rather late.
He should have told people that what you should do is to arm yourselves and fight back. “When these people know that they can be resisted, that will make them to relent. In this part of Nigeria, in the night they bring in lorries and truck loads of armed Fulani herdsmen and deposit them in our bushes, colonising the entire place. The police cannot do anything because they are subject to the Hausa Fulani authority. So, Benue is a kind of barrier to them in what they want to do. But their agenda they will pursue it vigorously. It is my conviction.”
We will defend ourselves, says South West CAN
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the South West geo-political zone has unfolded plans not to wait until the churches in the zone are overrun before they defend themselves. The Director of Planning and Research and Strategy of CAN in the zone, Nelson Fadoju, yesterday informed Saturday Telegraph that there is a plan to attack churches in the South which would be similar to those carried out in North Central.
He however said the body would on Sunday join other Christians to pray and fast against incessant killings, noting that all faithful would come together and pray at First Baptist Church Akure, and from there embark on a street procession to mark the protest. Informing that similar procontinued cessions would take place in all the 18 local government areas of the state in order to draw attention of the authorities to the killings of Christians in the country, Fadoju said it was time for Christians to defend themselves against the attack on churches.
“The protest is long overdue, we have been keeping quiet for long. We are no fools; they have taken us for a ride for a long time. The protest has taken this long because of biblical injunction that says we should love our neighbours and enemies. That is why they have taken us for granted. “We will fast and pray, but we will also take action. God will not be annoyed with us if we take drastic action. We have been warning them, we have met with the Vice President who is one of us, yet nothing has changed. “We do not wait on God alone, we are ready for action. We will first come together and pray, thereafter, there will be surprises.” Fadoju called on all Christians to be ready to defend themselves as the security agencies have failed to protect the citizens against invasion of churches.
No protest rally says Abia CAN
However, the Abia State chairman of CAN, Apostle Emmanuel Agomuo, has said the directive from the national secretariat CAN would be observed in churches in the state but not with the associated protest rally.
The reason according to him, is because the state CAN has not been able to secure the needed permission from the state government and the police. “We don’t want to go against the law. In addition to the prayer, CAN has directed peaceful protest in the respective states against mass killings of Christians, especially the one done on Monday in Benue State in which two Catholic priests and 17 others were killed”. Agomuo said the prayer point is peace of the country and the repose of the souls of the dead.
Cross River CAN yet to get directive
Reacting, the Cross River State chapter of CAN said it was yet to receive a formal directive from the national body, saying that it would embark on the planned prayer/protest once there is an official communication to that effect. Speaking on the matter, the treasurer of the state chapter, Apostle Frank Umoh, said: “For now, I don’t know because we have not received any formal communication from the national office. They only put it on WhatsApp but we have not received a formal communication to that effect”.