Metro

Murder of female preacher: Be ready to defend yourselves, CAN tells Christians

Published

8 years ago

July 13, 2016

The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Tuesday, condemned the gruesome murder of a female pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, Mrs. Eunice Elisha by suspected Muslim fanatics in the Gbazango area of Kubwa, Federal Capital Territory, FCT, describing it as another religious, hatred-motivated gruesome murder.

According to CAN, which called on Christians in the country to brace up to defend themselves, such gruesome murder is growing under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

CAN, in a statement signed by Rev. Dr, Musa Asake, 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”, the association said.

It would be recalled that late Mrs Elisha was found butchered and left in a pool of her blood by residents of the Gbazango area of Kubwa in the early hours of Saturday who alerted the police.

She was said to have gone on ‘morning cry’, a term used for early morning evangelism among Christian Pentecostals.

The statement, titled, Nigeria: A macabre dance of death, reads in part:

“In recent times, there have been multiple cases of attacks by Fulani herdsmen on various Christian communities, all over the nation. In the South East and in 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.

“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 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.

“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 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, the statement read.

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