The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and other Christian organizations have expressed worry over what they call the speed at which the federal government is releasing arrested terrorists, rehabilitating and sending them back to the society.
They also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to explore the option of foreign help to end the spate of killings in the country particularly the Boko Haram insurgency.
This is contained in a communique made available to ABN TV at the end of a colloquium held on Monday the 2nd of March 2020 by the Christian community at Vision Africa complex Umuahia, Abia state.
The communique was signed by the South South CAN chairman, Archbishop Dr. Ege Israel Eniyekemini and the south East CAN chairman, Bishop Dr. Goddy Okafor.
The communique read;
“Going by the outrageous spate of terrorism, radicalism, and insecurity of lives and properties of citizens, the federal government was admonished to seek the help of the international community in the face of these daunting challenges, if it must ensure reconciliation and sustainable peace.
“We all value the principle of the sanctity of life, and we call for its practice in truism. The violence that is conducted in the name of God, is a desecration of his name, a crime against those who are created in His image, and a debasement of faith. The proper means of solving conflict and disagreement is by deliberate negotiation and dialogue only.
“We vehemently call for the cessation of incitement, misrepresentation and distortion of the image of the other and of the neighbor. Drawing upon the religious traditions, and our understanding of what is best for our communities and peoples, we call for a solution that recognizes the rights of Christians to exist in dignity.
“Religious leaders bear a special responsibility to contribute to the desired peace. We urge the political leadership to work toward solutions they are accountable before God and the communities of believers to advance peace and tirelessly strive to stop the wanton killings and waste of precious lives/
“We call on the government to improve on intelligence gathering and deployment of modern technology to track and monitor the operations of the insurgents.
“There is an urgent need to sincerely rejig and decentralize Nigerian security arrangements for efficiency.
“We acknowledge and totally adopt the security formations in the southwest and join an alliance with our brothers” efforts in securing their borders and communities.
“As leaders who are concerned and pained by the level of insecurity in the land, we call on the government to strengthen security surveillance within and around our land borders. The porosity of our borders has guaranteed free inter-country movement with little or no checks, worsened by the visa-on-arrival policy. We demand a reversal of this policy/
“We call on the government to make it a point of duty to inform Nigerians what is being done to curb the insecurity in Nigeria. Nigerians on a daily basis are being fed with different kinds of security information with the government sometimes saying something on the contrary. Nigerian government should protect Nigerians no matter the tribe and religion.
“The leaders also expressed worry about the speed in which arrested terrorists are being released, rehabilitated and sent back to the society as repentant terrorists. We are deeply worried why the government should be pampering such killer terrorists who have not in any way justified their action against Nigerians. This development is not only worrisome but demoralizes the morale of gallant soldiers.
“The Anti- open grazing bill should be adopted and enacted into law in all the southern states, so as to preserve our farmlands and secure our households.
“The rape of our women and children is an aberration and a total disregard for our rights as people. We stand together to condemn this intrusion and call on faith leaders to form a synergy to stamp out this slap on our collective faces as a people.
