The Christian Association of Nigeria has raised nine pertinent questions for President Muhammadu Buhari to answer as the body mourns the gruesome killing of its leader in Michika by Boko Haram terrorists.
The questions, some of them uncomfortable, were posed by CAN President Dr. Samson Ayokunle, at a press conference in Abuja, following the killing of Reverend Lawan Andimi.
CAN urged the government to stop living in denial and face reality that the Boko Haram scourge is far from being over.
Declaring that it is almost losing hope in Buhari government’s ability to protect Nigerians especially Christians, it called on the International Community to come to the aid of Nigeria, especially, the Nigerian Church, lest Christians are eliminated in the country.
Below are the Nine Critical questions
1. What is the essence of SIM card registration if the authorities cannot use it to track down these killers who rely on phones as a mean of communication to do their criminalities?
2. What has become of Intelligence gathering of our security agencies?
3. Is this government and the security agencies still claiming that the war against these criminals been won despite all the killings?
4. Is the government sincere in fighting these terrorists or merely paying lip service to the war against the insurgency?
5. Is there any hope that our security is guaranteed under this government?
6. Can the government tell us what they did since Rev. Andimì cried out to them for help?
7. If the security agencies claim the terrorists are operating outside the country, why is it possible for these hoodlums to invade the country, kill, maim, burn and kidnap without any convincing checks on the part of the security agencies?
8. Since the government and its apologists are claiming the killings have no religious undertones, why are the terrorists and herdsmen targeting the predominantly Christian communities and Christian leaders?
9. If the security agencies are not living up to the expectations of the government, why hasn’t it overhauled them with a view of injecting new visionaries into the security system?
CAN also made a ten-point demand from Buhari and urged him to take immediate action.
“The President should overhaul the security council with a view of bringing in new heads of all the security agencies and the para-military which no religion or part of the country will dominate.
“The Federal government should either label the Miyetti Allah Fulani Association a terrorist organisation as being regarded in the terror index.
“The Federal Government should order the arrest of the leadership of the Miyetti Allah Groups who are sponsoring and perpertuating the crime of Nigeria and prosecute them for all the killings in Southern Kaduna, Benue, Plateau and Taraba States, among others.
“The Federal Government should publish names of all kingpins of the terrorists who are in detention and those who are being prosecuted.
“The Federal Government should stop releasing the so-called repented terrorists since they are reportedly joining their colleagues in the forest to unleash terror on the land.
“The Federal Government should reverse the recent controversial Police promotion with a view to balancing religious and ethnic divides in the country.
“The Federal Government should stop sending delegation to all Islamic international organisations and let our Muslim counterparts be doing so as we are doing in all international Christian religious organisations.
“The Federal Government should stop discriminating against our female Youth corps members who refuse to wear the NYSC trousers for religious reasons since they allow their Muslim counterparts to wear hijab.
“The victims of the consistent attacks should be assessed and adequately compensated. The victims in various IDPs be provided with adequate security and enough resources for continual survival.
“It is painful and a betrayal to note that the government gives more attention to so called repentant terrorists than the victims of their evil with the claim that they are being reinstated and rehabilitated, even into the Nigerian Army. This is a major contradiction.”
