CHRISTIAN GROUPS PROTEST, WARN PRESIDENT BUHARI TO STOP KILLINGS OR LOSE 2019
CHRISTIAN GROUPS PROTEST, WARN
PRESIDENT BUHARI TO STOP KILLINGS OR LOSE 2019
CAN PROTEST ONDO
1
Christian groups on Sunday marched on the streets of
Lagos, Akure, Osogbo and Ado-Ekiti to register their opposition to the recent
killings in parts of the country.
They also
vowed to vote out the current government of President Muhammadu Buhari accusing
him of failing to deal with the problem of insecurity in the country.
The
President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Olasupo Ayokunle, on
Wednesday implored all Christians to hold peaceful protests within their church
premises on April 29 to protest Tuesday’s killing of two priests and 17
worshippers at St. Ignatius Catholic Church, Mbalom, Gwer East Local Government
Area of Benue State.
Coming
under the umbrella of CAN, the churches led by their clergies, said they were
protesting to call the attention of the federal government to the fact that
Christians would no longer tolerate the wanton killings of their fellow
believers by suspected herdsmen.
The
Catholic Church, Baptist and some denominations had some days ago, marched in
Ondo State clad in black robes to protest the murderous attack by suspected
herdsmen on Christians in Benue State, which resulted in the gruesome murder of
the catholic priests.
In Lagos,
members of the First Baptist Church, Kosofe, protested the killings
Hundreds
of worshippers with various inscriptions on placards demanded an end to the
killings which are allegedly being carried out by herdsmen. They also demanded
the prompt release of Leah Sharibu, the kidnapped Dapchi girl still in the
custody of Boko Haram.
The Senior
Pastor of the church, Festus Olatunde,accused the federal government of not
doing enough in arresting the ugly situation that has led to the loss of lives
and properties in major places like Benue.
He
particularly frowned at the killing of worshippers in a Catholic Church last week.
He said:
“The killings of worshippers inside the church is condemnable, and the only way
the federal government can show their sincerity is to go after the preparators
to arrest them and try and serve justice. Until the federal government does
that, the Church of God will not keep quiet.”
In Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, CAN on Sunday led some denominations,
who suspended their normal church activities, to protest the continued killings
in the middle belt region as well as other parts of the country.
The
placard-carrying protesters, in their numbers, marched and declared that they
were tired of incessant killings in Benue and the North-eastern part of the
country.
The
protest was closely watched by the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria
Security and Civil Defence Corps.
The
protesters warned that the current trend had the potential of eliciting another
civil war if not checked on time.
CAN warned
that allowing Christians to be freely killed without response from the federal
government under President Muhammadu Buhari, may cause “total collapse of the
country.”
The
Chairman of CAN in Ekiti, Joshua Orikogbe, led other leaders of the churches in
the state to the Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, to register their
displeasure.
Mr
Orikogbe called on Mr Buhari to act swiftly by stopping the menace and bring
the culprits to book.
“We are
for peace in Nigeria but it is like we are being pushed to the wall by these
wanton killings of Christians and clerics,” he said.
“To us in
Ekiti CAN, the only way to sustain peace is for the government of the day at
the federal level to abandon politics for sometime and focus on the needed
attention on security and safety of
lives.”
lives.”
Mr Fayose, represented by his Special Adviser on Religious Matters, Seyi
Olusola, commended them for carrying out the protest in a peaceful manner.
The
governor promised to transmit their grievances to the appropriate federal
authorities for consideration and action.
In Ondo
State, the protest march was not much different. The protest was peaceful and
closely watched by security operatives.
There was,
however, a traffic snarl in the busy expressway of the Akure metropolis, when
the march hit the heart of the city.
The
leaders of CAN, however, were displeased when the state’s deputy governor,
Agboola Ajayi, came to address the protesters. They said they wanted the
governor himself, Rotimi Akeredolu, to address them.
The
protesters chased away the deputy governor at the front of the government
house.
“It is the
governor or nobody. We voted for him and we expect him to take our issues
serious. The deputy governor should go back, we don’t want him,” the angry
members said.
The Ondo
State CAN Chairman, John Oladapo, said the protest across the country became necessary
following the incessant killings of innocent Christians across the country.
He
condemned what he called the lopsidedness of appointment of security chiefs in
the country, calling on President Buhari to address it.
“We are
here today to register our displeasure over the ongoing killings across the
country. We want to say Christians in the country are not second class
citizens. We will not allow these killings,” Mr Oladapo said.
“Why is it
that all our security chiefs are from the same region. We condemn this
appointment. Our government must listen to us.
“Let
Buhari forget 2019 for now and face security issues in the country. This is not
time for electioneering.
“We sent
our letter to the Governor of our coming today and the letter was duly received
by the office of the governor and since his inception he has been repeatedly
ignoring us as Christian Association.
“The reason given by the deputy governor to us was that the governor was
bereaved and presently in Ibadan, Oyo State, following the death of Oyo House
Assembly Speaker. How will the Governor leave his state and go to Oyo for
condolence when there is serious issue here. This is not acceptable.
“Finally,
I want to tell our people to go out there and register and also get your PVC
for you to do the needful come 2019.We are waiting for them.”
Also
speaking, the Presiding Bishop, Agape Christian Ministry, Felix Adejumo, while
condemning the killings in the country, disclosed that there are evidences that
those masterminding the killings were on a mission to silence churches.
“We have
evidences that they want to silence the Church but we will not allow them.
These killings are worrisome, enough is enough,” he said.
“The
church must not be marginalised. It is the blood of innocent Christians killed
that is crying for help in the country.”
Also, the
Anglican Bishop of Akure Diocese, Simeon Borokini, said Christians would not
allow cattle rearing in the state.
He called
on the state governor to as a matter of urgency ensure security in Akoko area
of the state, saying “the Akoko region is now the new Sambisa forest in
Nigeria.”
In Osogbo,
the Osun State capital, the churches in their protest, vowed to vote out
President Muhammadu Buhari, urging Christians to arm themselves with voter
cards.
The Union
Baptist Church, Osogbo, Osun State took the lead in mobilising its members to
the streets armed with placards and marched peacefully and silently.
The pastor
of Union Baptist Church, Osogbo and Chairman of the Nigeria Baptist Convention,
Osogbo, Olumide Kehinde, in his address expressed his dissatisfaction with the
Buhari administration in failing to tackle the herdsmen killing headon.
“We want
to tell President that ‘enough is enough’. We have been saying that the
incessant killings by the Fulani herdsmen are too much. President Buhari should
look into all these killing as a matter of urgency to make sure that the
killing is stopped,” he said.
“We are
demanding from the president that the killing by the herdsmen must stop. Buhari
should ensure that the Chibok girls should be released and Shaibu Leah that was
retained when several others were released because she refuse to deny Christ,
should be released.
“We prayed
last week over the killings by herdsmen yet we still experienced another
killing that same week where two Catholic priests and 17 others were killed by
Fulani herdsmen. Why won’t we think that it is targeted toward the Christian
body? Is it a sin for Christians to be Nigerians?
“We
thought the killings were going to stop after President Buhari was sworn in as
the president but it’s even worse in his administration. We voted him in and if
he is not taking any proactive steps in tackling the killing we will vote him
out by 2019.
“We voted
him because we want change but it appears that this is not the change we voted
for, we were lured to vote for the ‘Change mantra’ but come 2019 we are ready
to change hands again.”
Also, the
Gospel Faith Mission International in Agunbelewo, Osun State, also organised a
protest over the killings by the Fulani herdsmen.
The
Presiding Priest, Adegbite Olatunji, in his address, said the attack by the
Fulani herdsmen was a big threat to the Christian religion in the country.
“This
country is our own and we must do the needful in ensuring that it is safe for
us. We prayed last week over the killing but we are shocked again by another
killing of Catholic priests and other worshippers,” he said.
“Our
government must tackle this because we contributed to the vote that made him to
be in power and we can also decide in 2019.”