Below is a press statement by CAN titled- Nigeria: A macabre dance of death
The National leadership and the entire members of Christian Association
of Nigeria (CAN) have received with rude shock and disbelief the report
of yet another religious hatred motivated gruesome murder of a dedicated
42 year old Christian mother of seven children, Mrs. Eunice Elisha, who
on Saturday 9th July, 2016, was brutally killed while doing Christian
evangelism.
Mrs. Eunice Elisha was murdered in Kubwa area of
Abuja, FCT, in the early hours of the day. Her neck was slashed and she
was also stabbed in the stomach. About a month ago in Kano, Mrs. Bridget
Agbaheme, a 74 year old Christian was murdered at Wambai market due to
an altercation with a Muslim man who came to the front of her shop to
perform ablution. Her offence was that she objected to the Islamic
washing rite in front of her shop.
Just last week a clergyman of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA)
Reverend Zakariya was killed by attackers suspected to be Fulani
Herdsmen in Obi LGA of Nasarawa state. They attacked him on his farm,
cut off his arms and legs, then they chopped his head with a machete.
Another fresh but sad news reaching us is that of the Fulani herdsmen
militia that is back on rampage killing 81 people in multiple attacks in
Logo and Ukum local government areas of Benue state in central Nigeria.
In recent times, there have been multiple cases of attacks by Fulani
herdsmen on various Christian communities, all over the nation. In the
South East and in the South South zones, there have been gruesome
attacks on IPOB members and on Christian communities in the Niger Delta.
All these are in addition to the relentless attacks of Boko Haram and
Fulani herdsmen in the Middle Belt and southern Borno.
The Christian Association of Nigeria commiserates with the families
affected by these mindless orgies of death and destruction as well as
with the entire Christian community in Nigeria. We pray that God in His
mercy shall comfort and strengthen the families of all the Nigerians
affected in these unwarranted murders unleashed upon the nation by
religious extremists.
The recurring decimal of violence and murder of innocent Nigerian
citizens on the basis of religious intolerance demands specific and
relevant response from all concerned citizens in the country more so
when the government in power seems to have adopted an attitude of
lukewarm response to the evils being perpetrated in Nigeria in the name
of religion.
The discrimination against non-Muslims in Nigeria under the Buhari
Administration is assuming a dangerous dimension that should not be left
to the vagaries of time and circumstance to resolve.
You will agree with me that with these happenings and the lukewarm
attitude by the authorities concern toward putting an end to it, Nigeria
is dancing a macabre dance of death, both for the nation and for its
citizens. It is time to stop the beat and let common sense guide the
nation out of the present quagmire. A stitch in time saves nine.
Before the situation escalates into an unmanageable national crisis, the
Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is calling on the authorities
both at the states and federal to do everything possible to bring the
perpetrators to justice if the confidence of Christians on this
government must be maintained.
The unprovoked attacks on Christians and the authority’s inaction is
becoming unbearable and may not be tolerated anymore, inasmuch as we
will continue to call on Christians to remain tolerant and law abiding,
it is becoming inevitable to also call on them to buckle up and be ready
to defend themselves against these incessant unprovoked and mindless
attacks.
Signed…
Rev. Dr. Musa Asake
General Secretary, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN)
10th July, 2016