Sylvanus Viashima, Jalingo
Spiritual leader and International Director of the Holiness Revival Movement, Pastor Paul Rika, has called on victims of insurgency to wait on God and not to retaliate in the face suffering and persecution they are passing through.
The clergy made the call, in Jalingo, Taraba State, at the Methodist revival programme for her ministers in the state.
Rika said that “those suffering according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good, waiting patiently on God for His verdict rather than taking up arms for retaliation”.
Rika said it was better for the body of Christ to suffer even as Christ Himself had suffered for the Church, rather than suffering that comes from been guilty of a bad thing or evil.
The clergy insisted that for the nation to be on the path of prosperity again, there must be “transformation of life, true repentance and righteousness before God, with a total disdain for injustice and discrimination
Meanwhile, the Catholic Bishop of Jalingo Diocese, The Most Rev. Dr. Charles Hammawa, on Tuesday, called on the federal government to protect the sanctity of human lives to calm the growing tension in the country.
Hammawa made the call at a requiem mass held at Our Lady Queen of Peace Cathedral Jalingo in solidarity with the burial of the two Catholic Priests of the Makurdi Diocese, Rev. Frs. Joseph Gor and Felix Tyoloha and other 17 parishioners in Benue State.
The Bishop called for unanimous condemnation of the killings going in the country which he said had assumed a more dangerous and disturbing dimension.
“These continuous killings of innocent people, while our elected leaders look the other way as if their lives does not matter is an act of betrayal. The federal government must rise up to protect all citizens without bias, for every human life matters and no life is more important than the other.
“The present government of President Muhammadu Buhari lack legitimacy and sincerity of purpose and people should not support such government, and since he can no longer protect the lives and property of citizens which is a primary constitutional responsibility, he should step aside.
Hammawa noted that all lives belongs to God and the lives of others should not be be seen as being superior to the others.
He urged Christians to be peaceful in the face of provocation, but defend themselves where they can.