The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in 19 Northern states and Abuja has called on the Federal Government to liberate Nigerians from criminals gangs and their reign of terror.
In a statement titled, ‘Democracy Day: Insecurity and looming food crisis issued to news in Kaduna on Monday and signed by Public Relations Officer of the religious body, Rev. Jechonia Albert, Northern CAN noted that the just concluded Democracy Day celebration was marked with mixed feelings.
“In Lagos, Abuja and some Southern states, Nigerians trooped to the streets to protest against the unfortunate state of affairs in the country.
“Without mincing words, Northern CAN wishes to state that the current state of the nation has plunged the vast majority of the people into hunger, poverty, frustration and despondency.
“Amid increasing insecurity, bad economy and undemocratic tendencies among the leaders, is there anything really worth celebrating? Certainly none!
“We are particularly concerned about the security situation which appeared to have overwhelmed the government.
“The security situation in the country today has worsened with bandits, kidnappers and Boko Haram insurgents unleashing mayhem on Nigerians, killing innocent people and sacking communities,” the statement said.
It noted that due to the security situation, thousands of Nigerians, especially, in rural communities have been rendered homeless by bandits.
“The rains are here but farmers cannot go to the farms for the fear of being killed or abducted by bandits.
“The implication of this is that a looming food crisis stares us in the face and unless steps are taken to provide a secured environment for farmers to return to the farms, we may be in for more trouble with a hungry and frustrated population.
“Furthermore, Northern CAN is also concerned about the frequent attacks on schools and the abductions of students and pupils by bandits, especially, in states like Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara and Niger.
“We fear that these attacks, if not checked, many parents will be discouraged, parents and children would be forced to abstain from school, given the recent cases in Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina and Niger states, where parents of abducted schoolchildren paid hundreds of millions of naira to bandits for the release of their children.
“We fear that if nothing is done to stop the attacks and abductions in schools, many parents may not send their children to school again.
“To this end, we join other Nigerians to once again, call on the Federal Government for the umpteenth time to urgently address the security situation once and for all to liberate Nigerians from criminal gangs and their reign of terror.
“We appreciate the efforts by the security agencies despite the challenges they also face in protecting Nigerians. Many of them have lost their lives while others were injured in the line of duty, partly as a result of a lack of equipment to confront the criminals.
“We urged the president to go beyond rhetorics and match his words with action this time around in order to inspire confidence among Nigerians.
“On democracy, Northern CAN holds that there is nothing to celebrate in view of the excruciating pain and hardship Nigerians are facing,” the association declared.
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