Boko Haram still killing Christians ---- CAN
(Nigeria) Christian Association Nigeria, CAN, Thursday, expressed
concern over the continuous killing of Christians and burning of churches by
the deadly Islamic sect, Boko Haram, despite the reported military onslaught
against the insurgents, following the declaration of state of emergence in
Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.
CAN President, Pastor
Ayo Oritsejafor, in a statement, in Abuja “While he appreciates the statement
by the military high command that more towns are being secured in the
operations to rid the nation of terrorist activities, he is sad by reports from
Borno State where the terror has gone from the horrendous to the tragic as more
Christians are still being killed and Churches burnt as reflected in many
distress calls from the state by CAN officials on ground.
“Last Friday, for instance, an executive member of CAN in
Gwoza Local Government Area, Rev. Luka
Bazigila and a member of the COCIN Church, Yohanna, both of who were in
attendance at a Christian fellowship were shot dead by gunmen who alighted from
a Tricycle. The gunmen, apparently angry that they missed their target, the
Medical director of Borno State Hospital, who was out when they arrived his
residence, shot and killed his step mother.
“A Muslim guard, employed by a Christian Architect in Abuja
to watch over his house was mistaken for a Christian and shot dead. One COCIN
Church on the Mandara Mountain was burnt by members of the Boko Haram sect on
Sunday morning.
“In the light of a recent statement that the military
recovered a document containing the names of Boko Haram sponsors, I call on the
Federal Government to expose the sponsors now. I believe that such exposition
will go a long way to enhance the fight against the Boko Haram sect and serve
as a deterrent to others who might want to toe the same line.”
CAN drew the attention of those citing reasons other than
religion as the cause of the insurgency by Boko Haram to a recent statement by
the leader of the sect, Alhaji Abubakar Shekau, where he called on like-minded
Islamists in countries, including
Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq to join to create an Islamic state in Nigeria,
urging friends of Nigeria, to join forces with the Federal Government in this
struggle to save Christians from being exterminated.
“We call on our friends abroad to regard the statement by
the Boko Haram leader as a Save-Our-Soul message before Christians in Nigeria
are confined to only one part of the country. If this happens, Nigeria is
heading for division. Therefore, Nigerians who believe that the reasons for the
onslaught of Boko Haram on innocent Christians, their Churches and other
Nigerians are linked to injustice, inequality and unemployment should remember
that Nigeria belong to us all.
“Boko Haram is a part of a global network of terror. I call
on the northern Muslim leaders to jettison regionalism, ethnicism and religion
and to imbibe the culture of unity in diversity as the only true principle that
can save Nigeria. Resorting to arm-twisting tactics can only shield the Boko
Haram members and encourage them in their killing spree. This is a Jihad not
inspired by pecuniary or unequal motives but one that is driven by fanatical
and dogmatic religious ideology of doing away with Christianity in Nigeria.
“I plead with President Goodluck Jonathan not to allow the
blood of our Reverend gentlemen and other Christians not to be allowed to atone
for a cause that does not only make a mockery of what Amnesty stands for, but
seems to suggest that the blood thirsty sect is on a legitimate and acceptable
mission.
“I commiserate with the families of the deceased and pray to
God to give them the fortitude to bear the losses. I call on all Christians in
Nigeria and in the Diaspora to join me in prayers for peace, unity of Nigeria
and an end to the insecurity in our land tomorrow, Friday, May 31, 2013,” he said.
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