Illustrative
Photo: President Buhari, Primate and Archbishops of the Church of
Nigeria (Anglican Communion) in Statehouse Abuja, 3rd June 2016.
As Christians across the country continue to condemn the murder of
Eunice Elisha, a female preacher of the Redeemed Christian Church of God
(RCCG), who was hacked to death
at the Gbazango area of Kubwa in Abuja, by suspected Muslim fanatics,
while conducting an early morning preaching, the Christian Association
of Nigeria (CAN) has reacted to the gruesome murder, urging Christians
to prepare to defend themselves.
Read the full statement below;
NIGERIA: A MACABRE DANCE OF DEATH
The National leadership and the entire members of Christian
Association of Nigeria (CAN) have received with rude shock and disbelief
the report of yet another religious hatred motivated gruesome murder of
a dedicated 42 year old Christian mother of seven children, Mrs. Eunice
Elisha, who on Saturday 9th July, 2016, was brutally killed while doing
Christian evangelism.
Mrs. Eunice Elisha was murdered in Kubwa area of Abuja, FCT, in the
early hours of the day. Her neck was slashed and she was also stabbed
in the stomach. About a month ago in Kano, Mrs. Bridget Agbaheme, a 74
year old Christian was murdered at Wambai market due to an altercation
with a Muslim man who came to the front of her shop to perform ablution.
Her offence was that she objected to the Islamic washing rite in front
of her shop.
Just last week a clergyman of the Evangelical Church Winning All
(ECWA) Reverend Zakariya was killed by attackers suspected to be Fulani
Herdsmen in Obi LGA of Nasarawa state. They attacked him on his farm,
cut off his arms and legs, then they chopped his head with a machete.
Another fresh but sad news reaching us is that of the Fulani herdsmen
militia that is back on rampage killing 81 people in multiple attacks in
Logo and Ukum local government areas of Benue state in central Nigeria.
In recent times, there have been multiple cases of attacks by
Fulani herdsmen on various Christian communities, all over the nation.
In the South East and in the South South zones, there have been gruesome
attacks on IPOB members and on Christian communities in the Niger
Delta. All these are in addition to the relentless attacks of Boko Haram
and Fulani herdsmen in the Middle Belt and southern Borno.
The Christian Association of Nigeria commiserates with the families
affected by these mindless orgies of death and destruction as well as
with the entire Christian community in Nigeria. We pray that God in His
mercy shall comfort and strengthen the families of all the Nigerians
affected in these unwarranted murders unleashed upon the nation by
religious extremists.
The recurring decimal of violence and murder of innocent Nigerian
citizens on the basis of religious intolerance demands specific and
relevant response from all concerned citizens in the country more so
when the government in power seems to have adopted an attitude of
lukewarm response to the evils being perpetrated in Nigeria in the name
of religion.
The discrimination against non-Muslims in Nigeria under the Buhari
Administration is assuming a dangerous dimension that should not be left
to the vagaries of time and circumstance to resolve.
You will agree with me that with these happenings and the lukewarm
attitude by the authorities concerned toward putting an end to it,
Nigeria is dancing a macabre dance of death, both for the nation and for
its citizens. It is time to stop the beat and let common sense guide
the nation out of the present quagmire. A stitch in time saves nine.
Before the situation escalates into an unmanageable national
crisis, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is calling on the
authorities both at the states and federal to do everything possible to
bring the perpetrators to justice if the confidence of Christians on
this government must be maintained.
The unprovoked attacks on Christians and the authority’s inaction
is becoming unbearable and may not be tolerated anymore, inasmuch as we
will continue to call on Christians to remain tolerant and law abiding,
it is becoming inevitable to also call on them to buckle up and be ready
to defend themselves against these incessant unprovoked and mindless
attacks.
Signed...
Rev. Dr. Musa Asake
General Secretary, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN)
10th July, 2016.
No comments:
Post a Comment