PRESS
STATEMENT BY CAN
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 concern
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
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