.CAN seeks global intervention against killing of Christians
Christian Association of Nigeria has called on Amnesty International and other human rights groups across the globe to intervene and save Nigeria from the activities of Boko Haram.
This came as the Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, Dr. Ola Makinde, said there was no basis for religious war in the country.
The association, which was reacting to the shooting at Jakano, Borno State, where five Christian worshippers, including their pastor were killed, noted that the sect was trying to topple the constitutional order and enthrone Islamic code in the country.
The CAN President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, who spoke in a statement on Monday, condemned the activities of the sect, urging security agencies to enhance their method of getting intelligence reports to fight against violence in the country.
“These attacks on churches and killings of Christians are a clear deliberate act aimed at population cleansing, based on religion and ethnicity.
“I am uncomfortable with the blanket of silence and inaction by the governors of the affected states. I am calling on the governors of these states to, not only; condemn the killings of Christians going on in their states but also to take proactive actions that would protect Christians.
“I call on all amnesty, human rights, civil society groups and, indeed, the international community to take interest in this matter of attempts to deplete the population of Christians in Nigeria through the deployment of brutal and heinous means and also to note the abuses on Christians.
“As rights and corrective groups, it would be unjustifiable to turn their eyes away from what is happening to Christians and their Churches in Nigeria. I, therefore, call on the international community to intervene in and to find lasting solutions to these crimes being committed against Christians in Nigeria.”
Meanwhile, Makinde in a statement on Monday, said no teaching in Islam and Christianity asked their adherents to kill fellow human beings.
He spoke at the Abraham Tabernacle, Sagamu – venue of the seventh edition of the Annual New Year Thanksgiving Service.
He said, “Those responsible for the Boko Haram insurgency and the attendant mindless killings and orgy of bombings and destructions have another agenda other than religious propagation.”
“Islam and Christianity do not support the kind of mindless violence going on in Nigeria. Nobody should hide under Sharia to practice evil. Sharia means justice and it has nothing to do with killing of innocent people. Without Sharia there will be no Islam. Good Muslims do not kill people in the name of religion.”
CULLED FROM: PUNCH NEWSPAPERS
January 15, 2013 by Friday Olokor and Sodiq Oyeleke
Written by NEWSTRAWL ONLINE UPDATE
Sodiq Oyeleke is a Media, Human Resources, Project Management and Public Relations Practitioner
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