From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), said on Friday, that failure of the security agencies and the government to rise against mob actions against Christians, especially in the north, was responsible for the repetition of such actions.
CAN General Secretary, Joseph Daramola, in a statement responding to the gruesome murder of Deborah Samuel, a 200 level Christian student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, by some “extremist” fellow students on alleged blasphemy, insisted that security operatives must fish out the perpetrators, prosecute them as expected to serve as deterrent to others.
He said: “The unlawful and dastardly action of the perpetrators must not only be condemned by all right thinking people but must not go unpunished. Security operatives must fish them out, prosecute them as expected.
“Evidently, it’s the failure of the security agencies and the government to rise to such criminalities in the past that gave birth to terrorists and bandits. As long as the state fails to bring these ‘beasts and criminals’ in our midsts to book, so also the society will continue to be their killing fields.
“We acknowledged the swift reaction of the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, who not only condemned the criminal and religious intolerant action, but called on the security agencies to bring the perpetrators to justice.
“We expect the Sokoto state Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, to ensure that the matter is not swept under the carpet, as it was in previous cases.”
CAN, thus, called on teachers and preachers of religious intolerance, extremism and terrorism to repent before the wrath of God descend on them, if the State fail to bring them to book, describing them as agents of death.
The Association recalled the provocative and demeaning advertisement of the Sterling Bank during the Easter where the bank, in the advertisement compared the Resurrection of Jesus Christ to “Agege bread”. “Up till now, nobody was attacked and even the CAN leadership has accepted the apology tendered by its Chief Executive, Abubakar Suleiman.”
It maintained that killing for any God in the name of blasphemy is ungodly, satanic, foolish, reprehensible and totally unacceptable. “This is not a stone age, and Nigeria is not a Banana Republic. Nigeria remains a non-religious State where no religion is supreme to the other.”
CAN in the statement acknowledged and commended the restraint of the Christian students of the College who refused to embrace self-help and reprisal attacks on those who murdered their colleague.
It insisted that government and the security agencies must stop treating the criminals with kid gloves. It commiserated with the family of Deborah and other bereaved praying that God console and comfort them.