Unprovoked attacks on Christians no longer bearable —CAN

BOTHERED by the spate of attacks on Christians, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), on Tuesday, called on Christians in the country to buckle up and be ready to defend themselves against incessant unprovoked and mindless attacks.

The religious body, which noted with shock, the recent murder of a 42-year-old mother of seven, Mrs Eunice Olawale, described this as another religious hatred.

The call was made in Abuja, on Tuesday, by the General Secretary of CAN, Reverend Musa Asake.

According to him, this was one of the many attacks on various Christian communities all over the country.

Asake noted the increasing  discrimination against non-Muslims in Nigeria, under the present administration, saying “it is assuming a dangerous dimension that should not be left to the vagaries of time and circumstance to resolve.”

He maintained that as much as the body would continue to call for tolerance on the part of Christians, the incessant attacks might no longer be tolerated.

“The unprovoked attacks on Christians and the authority’s inaction is becoming unbearable and may not be tolerated anymore, in as much 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,” he said.

Consequently, he called for a prompt address of the menace. “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.”

While also noting the very recent murder of the 42-year-old Mrs Olawale, who was murdered last Saturday, he said: “the national leadership and the entire members of CAN have received with rude shock and disbelief the report of yet another religious hatred and gruesome murder of Mrs Olawale who 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.

“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 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.

“You will agree with me that with these happenings and the lukewarm attitude by the authorities concerned towards 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.

“In recent times, there have been multiple cases of attacks by Fulani herdsmen . In the South-East and 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.”