Insecurity, criminality evidence of government failure —ECWA president

Evangelical Church of Wining All (ECWA) has condemned the spate of insecurity in Nigeria, saying the growing insecurity and criminality is a glaring evidence of government failure.

This was contained in a statement signed by ECWA President, Reverend Jeremiah Gado and  Secretary General  Reverend Yunusa S. Madu respectively made available to the Nigerian Tribune in Jos, Plateau State.

According to the statement, the church posited that the responsibility of every government of a country was the protection of the lives and property of its citizens, adding that inability of government to meet this very significant obligation to its people was an indication of its total failure.

The church said, based on the prevailing security situation, the security challenges  appeared to have overwhelmed the government and its security agencies as nowhere, either home, market places, work places, worship places or highways was safe.

“Like many other Nigerians, members of the ECWA are suffering the brunt of insecurity on our highways which have been taken over by armed robbers and kidnappers who kill, maim, torture, rape, steal and extort outrageous ransoms from their helpless poor victims while security agents look away.

“The situation is now very alarming as cases of kidnapping and armed robbery continue to re-vibrate from all regions of the country on an hourly bases against already impoverished citizens on the highways and in their homes.

“Within the last few days, ECWA pastors and members, including heavily pregnant women and children have been kidnapped by very young men along Abuja-Kaduna road and subjected to various degrees of traumatic experiences before being released after payment of ransoms.”

The statement further pointed out that one of the pastors of the church  who had just regained his freedom was held hostage for five days by some daredevil young kidnappers who seized him along Jere-Bwari road, just 200 metres away from a major police check point on the curve bridge on Friday August 5, 2017 at about 7pm after shooting the driver of the vehicle in which he was travelling.

“This scenario like many others as have been attested to by many residents along Abuja-Kaduna road lend credence to the possible collaboration of some bad egg police and other security personnel in the increasing crime of kidnapping and armed robbery along that highway, or how do you explain the fact that for all the period our pastor was in the hands of the kidnappers, they neither changed position nor mobile number and yet the security agents were not able to apprehend or track them”, the church said.