By ‘Dotun Akintomide
Following the continuous gruesome murder of innocent citizens by herdsmen, the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Thursday declared July 9-11, 2018 as National Days of Fasting and Prayers.
CAN asked all concerned Nigerians, both within and outside the country, to also join Christians on 11 July, 2018 for a peaceful nationwide protest.
In a statement, Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, Spokesman to CAN President, Rev Dr Samson Olasupo Ayokunle, explained that CAN’s decision was hinged on willful and persistent killings of fellow citizens in general and Christians in particular, mostly in Plateau and Benue where mass burial had become the norm without any positive response from the country’s security agencies.
It read: “CAN is worried, disturbed and disappointed that despite all the clarion calls on President Muhammadu Buhari to re-organise his security team by replacing all the security chiefs, he has consistently turned a deaf ear to such calls. From all indications, the President seems to be satisfied with their poor performance and the attendant problems that have led to avoidable loss of lives and property.
“We call on all Christians in the country and in the Diaspora to participate in the three-day prayers and fasting programme for God to end all the senseless, unwarranted, and selected killings in the country. If the government has failed us, we are very sure that Our God will never fail.
All National Executive Committee’s members of CAN, the Church and Denominational leaders have been invited to participate in a PEACEFUL PROTEST MARCH to both the National Assembly and the State House to impress on the government to see the need to effectively stop the unprecedented killings.
“CAN has also directed its leadership at the state and local government levels to organise the same Peaceful Protest March to the Government House and the Local government headquarters respectively on 11 July. We are to tell the government; ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. We appeal to our members to be law-abiding before, during and after the protest.”
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari, Thursday, met with a delegation from the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) from the 19 Northern States and the FCT. The delegation was led by Rev. Dr. Yakubu Pam.
