CAN president, Rev. Ayokunle
The National leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria, (CAN) on Friday expressed sadness over the manner the federal and state governments are handling the Southern Kaduna killings.
CAN described President Muhammadu Buhari’s silence on the matter as sad and unacceptable.
Briefing journalists in Abuja on the crisis in Southern Kaduna, CAN National General Secretary, Rev. Musa Asake, said although the church in Nigeria has been subjected to a “systemic genocide and persecution through the instrumentality of Boko Haram, which has killed thousands of Christians and destroyed churches and over 50,000 houses since 2009, the current unprecedented onslaught against Christians in southern Kaduna by Islamic fundamentalists disguising as Fulani herdsmen had reached an alarming stage.”
The continuous killings, Asake said had shown that the Kaduna State government “lacks the will power to arrest the situation and bring it under effective control.
“We know that southern Kaduna has been under 24-hour curfew daily as directed by the governor, yet the enemies of the people are still prowling going from house to house killing defenseless people without government protection,” the body said.
CAN, he said has declared January 8, 2017 as national day of mourning by Christians including those in diaspora, adding that all Christians must dress in mourning attire of black clothes or dresses in all church services.
He said, “I have been directed by the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Samson Olasupo Ayokunle to bring to your attention the ongoing ethnic/religious cleansing of Nigerian Christians in general and those of southern Kaduna in particular in the last few weeks.
“While we commend President Muhammadu Buhari for waging war against Boko Haram fundamentalists since his assumption of office, his silence on the ongoing genocide in the last few weeks speaks volume of the perceived official endorsement of the dastardly and ungodly acts.
“The recent defense of the President’s silence that the President has received briefing from the governor of Kaduna State on the matter is unacceptable, because the Presidency knows that the people of the affected area had already protested the governor’s unacceptable biased handling of the killings.”
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