CAN dares FG, says it won’t keep quiet over insecurity

* Accuses govt of treating criminals with kid gloves
Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has asked the Federal Government to wake up to its primary responsibility of protecting lives and property, saying it won’t keep quiet over insecurity in the country.

It said calling on the government to free its members from their captors who claim to be attacking Christians for religious sake is the right thing to do in the situation it has found itself. “These criminals are targeting predominant Christian communities, killing, maiming and abducting the people with or without any resistance from the security agencies is unprecedented”, CAN President, Rev. Samson Ayokunle, said yesterday.

“Let government wake up to its responsibility and see if we will not stop talking about its failure to protect our members”, Ayokunle said in a statement.

“That is not the politicisation of religion. The governor of Borno State is shouting that soldiers are extorting the people instead of defending them.

“If the government has not been treating those criminals with kid gloves, let them publish the names of the kingpins of the terrorists, herdsmen killers and bandits in their custody and those who are being prosecuted in the court of law for the world to see.

“How many Christians are heading any of the security agencies in the country?

“We are praying for the government on a daily basis but that does not mean where the government is failing we should keep quiet.

“Since Leah Sharibu and other Chibok girls have been crying for help, there is nothing on ground to show that the government has been sensitive to their plight.

“The only reason they are in captivity is that they are Christians, no more, no less.

“That government is condemning the terror attacks is not the same thing as stopping the attacks and arresting the criminals responsible or are they telling us they are spirits?

“Telling us to keep quiet is adding salt to our injury.

“Last week, it was Adamawa and on Monday, this week, it was Kaduna State where 41 people were kidnapped! “As long as the unpleasant situations in the country remain the same the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria will not keep quiet since that is the only thing we can do aside from praying for the captives”.