Nigerian Christians under the aegis of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) yesterday flooded major streets in the state capitals and Abuja to protest against heightened insecurity in the country resulting in wanton persecution and killing of their fellow Christians in the country.
These include the remaining over 100 Chibok schoolgirls, Dapchi schoolgirl, Leah Sharibu and others in Boko Haram captivity, others abducted by kidnappers in Southern Kaduna and held in captivity while others are slaughtered in Plateau State by mindless herdsmen.
Christians were also outraged when the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) released a video that showed a Christian man being executed by an Islamic State child “soldier” in Borno.
In a video released by its news platform, Amaq agency, ISWAP said the Christian man was killed on January 13.
The latest is the beheading of the abducted chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), in Michika Local government area of Adamawa State, Rev. Lawan Andimi by the Boko Haram terrorists and sending the gory picture of his killing to the president of the EYN Church, Rev. Daniel Mbaya.
The growing incidence of persecution and killing has forced the Christian body to say ‘enough is enough’ through prayer walk/peaceful protest, calling on the government to take the matter seriously.
In Ibadan, Oyo State, CAN led by its president, Rev. Samson Ayokunle staged a peceful march to remonstrate against the spate of persecution.
Speaking during the peaceful rally, Ayokunle slammed the government for not doing enough to protect Christians.
He called on the international community to “as you rose up for Syria, Iraq and other nations, rise up for Nigeria.
“If anybody is telling the government that they are doing their best, that person is not telling the truth. It is playing politics with human lives. If you politicians are playing politics, we in the church cannot play politics. The moment we don’t see bloodshed again, we in the church will begin to commend you.”
“As long as we continue to see bloodshed and kidnap on the road, we shall continue to call upon you because we elected you to provide security. The unorganised soldiers that are called terrorists should not be more powerful than the organised soldiers. We have the military upon which trillions of naira is being spent to keep us safe. This nonsense of killing must stop.
“My message, first of all to the Nigerian government, is to urge the administration to up their game on the issue of security. They said they are trying but their best is not the best because daily, bloodshed is happening. We cannot be playing politics with the lives of men and women.”
“Our President Buhari should rise up and up his game. If the attack is not religious don’t let there be attacks on Christians again. The killing of the young man going to Maiduguri is still fresh in our minds. When they were killing him, they said it in Hausa or Arabic that it was because he was a Christian. Abubakar said he was out to plant Sharia from north to south. So why are you saying it is not religious? Nigerians be hopeful; your God will fight for you.
“Help will come from within and outside for Nigeria. I call on the international community, please as you rose up for Syria, Iraq and other nations, rise up for Nigeria. Nigerians are bonafide human beings; they deserve to be protected by the international community,” said Ayokunle.
Earlier at a press briefing last Thursday, January 30 in Abuja, Ayokunle, had said (in)actions by the federal government had given criminals the latitude to carry out crimes unchallenged.
The CAN president who urged President Muhammadu Buhari to overhaul the security apparatus in the country to curb the killings said: “Government should order the arrest of the leadership of the Miyetti Allah for sponsoring and perpetuating crime of Nigeria and prosecute them for all the killings in Southern Kaduna, Benue, Plateau and Taraba states, among others.
“Also, government should publish names of all kingpins of the terrorists in detention and those who are being prosecuted.”
The general overseer of The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye who, along with members of his congregation, embarked on prayer walk, called for drastic overhaul of the security infrastructure “in our nation.”
The clergyman who took to his facebook wall wrote: “Today, Sunday, 2nd of February, 2020, members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God led by me embarked on a prayer walk that will usher in a new dawn in our dear country, Nigeria.
“The prayer walk was aimed at offering prayers and supplications unto God to save Nigeria from being consumed by insurgents, terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, armed robbers, militants and ritualists in all our states.
“Furthermore, we declared that Jesus who is the Prince of Peace is our Lord and King. We carried and displayed several placards saying ‘No’ to further killings and demanding that the Federal and State governments should rise up to their civic responsibility of securing the lives and properties of her citizens.
“In addition to this, we suggest that the security infrastructure in our nation be overhauled and improved drastically.
“It is our prayer and burning desire that peace will reign in our land. It is our heart-cry that our current security challenges will be a thing of the past.”
In Ekiti State, CAN members marched on the streets of Ado Ekiti condemning the beheading of Andimi, among other killings.
Addressing the protesters, the chairman of CAN in the state, Fr. Peter Olowolafe, described the security situation in the country as unbearable.
“It is no gainsaying that Nigeria is under a siege orchestrated by the murderous blood-thirsty and criminally-minded Boko Haram terrorists, Fulani terrorist herdsmen, bandits and kidnappers who are all armed to the teeth, dressed in army uniforms and gradually overwhelming our security agencies.
“Their activities ranged from killing Christian youths, men, women, raping our women and daughters decapitating children and subjecting people to cold-blooded murder,” he said.
He said Christians in the state decided to join others in the country to embark on the peaceful protest to express their grievances about the killings.
In Kogi State, Christians marched round the streets of Lokoja calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to take decisive actions to stop the killings.
The chairman of CAN in the state, Dr. John Ibenu, who addressed the media after the march, said there should be no sacred cows when tackling insecurity.
“We call on the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to act now to save lives. If he fails to act rightly and promptly, then posterity will judge him for standing with the enemy of the people. There must be no more sacred cows.”
He said CAN’s position on the deteriorating security situation had been vindicated even by President Buhari when his special adviser on media and publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina quoted the president as saying “I was taken aback by what is happening.”
Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in its reaction to the prayer walk cautioned people in ‘positions of influence’ against utterances that could aid ethno-religious fracas.
According to Premium Times, the party said in a statement by its spokesman Mr. Lanre Issa-Onilu that the fefderal government was winning the war against the insurgency and insecurity across Nigeria.
“In 2015, followed by a reelection in 2019, Nigerians voted President Muhammadu Buhari to among others win the war against terrorism and generally secure the country.
Despite the opportunistic and pocket of attacks on some soft targets, the President’s resolve and the APC-led government in degrading Boko Haram is not in doubt.
“We must not fall for this divisive ploy. In our respective spaces, we should understand that these violent extremists are our common enemies, and are blind to religious and political affiliation and socio-economic status.
“Our leaders – religious, political, traditional and all others in positions of influence and authority, must now show leadership and temperance in their utterances and actions. Doing otherwise will be acting the scripts and playing into the hands of these fanatics seeking to divide us and pitch us against each other,” said Issa-Onilu
