The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has demanded the resignation of President Muhammadu over rampant killings across the country.
In a reaction to the recent killings in Benue state where suspected herdsmen attacked Saint Ignatius Catholic Church, and killed 19 people, including two priests, the CBCN said Mr. Buhari’s handling of the killings appears to show his connivance with the suspected killers.
According to the statement signed by the president of the CBCN and Catholic Arch Bishop of Benin, Augustine Akubeze, the CBCN wants President Buhari to “stop presiding over the killing field that Nigeria has become”.
“We have received with deep shock, sorrow and utter horror, the gruesome, grisly and dastardly murder of two Catholic priests along with fifteen of their parishioners in the early hours of the morning of Tuesday 24 April 2018. These innocent souls met their untimely death in the hands of a wicked and inhuman gang of the rampaging and murderous terrorists, who have turned the vast lands of the Middle belt and other parts of Nigeria into a massive graveyard. Their unrestrained mayhem has become a metaphor for the untimely death that is now the fate of many of our fellow citizens today.
“That our two priests, Fr Joseph Gor and Fr Felix Tyolaha, along with their parishioners were waylaid in the course of the celebration of the Holy Mass early in the morning, suggests very clearly that their murder was carefully planned. This wicked act cannot be said to be a revenge attack (as is often claimed), for whom have these priests attacked?
“Indeed we have just discovered that on January 3 this year, Fr Gor tweeted: “We are living in fear. The Fulanis are still around here in Mbalom (where they were killed). They refuse to go. They still go grazing around. No weapons to defend ourselves.” Their desperate cries for security and help went unheeded by those who should have heard them. They could have fled, but, true to their vocation, they remained to continue to serve their people right unto death.
“Since the President who appointed the Heads of the nation’s Security Agencies has refused to call them to order, even in the face of the chaos and barbarity into which our country has been plunged, we are left with no choice but to conclude that they are acting a script that he approves of.
“If the President cannot keep our country safe, then he automatically loses the trust of the citizens. He should no longer continue to preside over the killing fields and mass graveyard that our country has become.”
The bishops said the President has failed to heed various calls to act drastically towards ensuring an end to the mayhem. The CBCN blamed part of the problem on the federal government’s decision to appoint heads of security agencies, mainly from one of Nigeria’s major religions.
“Repeated calls from us and many other Nigerians on the President to take very drastic and urgent steps to reverse this ugly tragedy that threatens the foundation of our collective existence and unity as a nation, have fallen on deaf ears. It is clear to the nation that he has failed in his primary duty of protecting the lives of the Nigerian citizens. Whether this failure is due to inability to perform or lack of political will, it is time for him to choose the part of honour and consider stepping aside to save the nation from total collapse.”
“We are sad. We are angry. We feel totally exposed and most vulnerable. Faced with these dark clouds of fear and anxiety, our people are daily being told by some to defend themselves. But defend themselves with what? The Federal Government, whose primary responsibility it is to protect lives, for its part alleges that those who ask the people to defend themselves are inciting them to take the laws into their hands. But how can the Federal Government stand back while its security agencies deliberately turn a blind eye to the cries and wails of helpless and armless citizens who remain sitting ducks in their homes, farms, highway and now, even in their sacred places of worship?
“For over two years now, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, along with many other well-meaning Nigerians, have consistently asked the President to rethink the configuration of his security apparatus and strategy. Along with millions of Nigerians, we have expressed our lack of confidence in the security agencies, which the President has deliberately placed in the hands of the adherents of only one religion.
“On February 8 this year, when we paid the President a courtesy call, we raised alarm over the security of the nation and the spate of violence perpetrated with impunity by people who have neither respect for the value of human life nor regard for the laws of our country, urging him to take the most drastic steps to stem the tide of this evil in our land. Since then, the bloodletting and the destruction of homes as well as farmlands have increased in intensity and brutality. Now, our Churches have been desecrated and our people murdered on their altars.”
The statement said the CBCN feels violated and betrayed by the current leadership’s handling of security situations. It called on Nigerians to defend themselves, while urging the federal government to stop disarming Nigerians, since ‘military operatives cannot protect the people’.
“As leaders, we have consistently asked our people to remain peaceful and law-abiding, even in the face of the worst form of provocation. Today, we Christians feel violated and betrayed in a nation that we have all continued to sacrifice and pray for. We collectively feel abandoned and betrayed.
“We call on all Nigerians to hold their heads high and stand for their fundamental right to life and security. Government should encourage and empower citizens to secure themselves and their environments. This is not the time to disarm people with legally procured weapons of self-defence. These are not normal times since those we pay to protect us have failed to do their duty. Nigeria can return to normal times if we put our heads together with sincerity.”
The catholic bishops are currently meeting with the catholic pontiff, Pope Francis, in Rome.
