TROUBLE AS ANGLICAN BISHOP PASSED SERIOUS WARNING TO PRESIDENT BUHARI – (FULL DETAILS)
TROUBLE
AS ANGLICAN BISHOP PASSED SERIOUS WARNING TO PRESIDENT BUHARI – (FULL DETAILS)
POLITICS
– Latest
update as the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion has condemned the way the
President Muhammadu Buhari led Federal Government is handling the menace of
herdsmen in the country.
Rising
from its 2018 synod at the St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Amawbia, the Bishop of
Awka Diocese, Dr. Alex Ibezim in his charge wondered why the Fulani herdsmen
were being handled with kid’s glove.
In the
Bishop’s charge with the theme, ‘Mission, the heart of God,” the church urged
Buhari to stop treating the killers with levity.
The
synod noted that a group that had killed thousands of Nigerians should not be
treated as kinsmen.
The
church regretted that the return of democracy in 1999 that ought to be a kind
of political liberation had been allowed to divide Nigerians into religious and
ethnic cleavages.
The
charge added, “Nigeria, a major oil producer and Africa’s most populous nation
and second-largest economy, is facing challenges. Most political parties are
much more concerned about upcoming elections rather than the burning issues of
the country.
“Political
liberalisation ushered in by the return to civilian rule in 1999 has allowed
militants from religious and ethnic groups to pursue their demands through
violence.
“Separatist
aspirations have also been growing, prompting reminders of the bitter civil war
over the breakaway Biafran republic in the late 1960s.
It
added that Nigeria while still reeling from the Boko Haram insurgency and its
numerous atrocities, another terrorist group, which he referred to as Fulani
herdsmen, sprouted.
The
church said, “The group has done enough havoc to be acknowledged by the global
community as the fourth deadliest terror group in the world.
The
church noted that between 2014 and 2018, herdsmen had killed over 1,229 people
across the country with Benue, Taraba, Nassarawa, Plateau, Kaduna and Katsina
as the worst hit states.
The
church added,” They are armed with sophisticated weapons and usually attack
their target communities at a time they are most vulnerable such as at midnight
or on Sundays when they are in church, killing people indiscriminately and
burning houses and looting properties.
“Most
worrisome is the brutality and impunity with which the assailants operate
without regard for the law and the sanctity of human life. The Nigerian police
and even the military seem powerless to defend the victims from being
mercilessly slaughtered in their homes.
“It is
unfortunate that this level of criminal impunity is happening in a sovereign
nation with a constitution which declares that the security and welfare of the
citizens shall be a major responsibility of the state.
“Perhaps
we need to ask why the police and the military are incapable of protecting the
farmers from violent attacks by Fulani herdsmen. Is it true that the Fulani
militias are better armed and sometimes outnumber the police?
“Why is
it difficult for the Federal Government to contain the terror of the Fulani
militia? Who are those arming the Fulani herdsmen to unleash mayhem on innocent
and defenceless Nigerians?”
The
synod wondered what President Muhammadu Buhari silence on the issue could mean,
stressing that “Nigerians are tired of speeches and condolence messages to
victims.
They
added, “If this country will continue to remain as one, then those who
perpetrate crime must be dealt with accordingly without minding whose ox is
gored.”
On the
2019 general elections, the synod urged politicians not to pursue it “with
senseless desperado and indiscretion.”
It
described Buhari’s anti-corruption fight as lopsided and ineffectual.