KILLING OF CHRISTIANS IN NIGERIA NOW UNBEARABLE – CAN

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

Abuja, July 12, 2016 – The Christian Association of Nigeria(CAN) has said it will no longer tolerate incidents of killing of Christians in the country, calling on the authorities to act before it goes out of hand.

CAN made the call following the brutal killing of 42 year old Christian mother of seven children, Mrs. Eunice Elisha, on Saturday 9th July, 2016 while doing Christian evangelism in Abuja.

In a statement, General Secretary CAN, Dr. Musa Asake the association said it received with rude shock and disbelief the report of death of Mrs. Eunice Elisha.

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.

While commiserating with families of the bereaved, CAN said 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 concerned 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’’, CAN said, adding that 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 group said.

It said 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’’, CAN said.