.Call for Buhari’s resignation, sack of Service Chiefs
By Ummi Ismaeel-Minna
Bishop of Minna Diocese, Catholic Church, Most Rev. Martins Uzoukwu, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently end the killings in parts of the country as it is a big minus for the present administration and the entire security apparatus.
Uzoukwu also urged President Buhari to prevail on the Service Chiefs to stop toying with the lives of Nigerian Christians by ending the ongoing killings in parts of the country or step aside because, ‘‘we all voted to be protected and not to be slaughtered like animals on a daily basis’.
“When will this barbarism end The cleric was
addressing protesters at St. Michael’s Cathedral Church, Minna on Tuesday after they had peacefully protested against the killings of Catholic priests and worshippers in Benue and other parts of the country.
The protesters thronged the Catholic Cathedral with placards with various inscriptions such as; “Stop the killings, ‘Stop shedding innocent blood’ ‘We are one in Nigeria’, ‘Enough is enough’, “No Nigeria is superior to others” among others, demanding that injustices against Christians should end.
With the Church auditorium filled to capacity while others remained outside the premises, the protesters also declared, “We are sad, we are angry, we feel totally exposed to attacks and most vulnerable in our own country”.
Bishop Uzoukwu who spoke extensively about the pains Christians in Nigeria have been going through recently, said, “Nigerian Christians feel their rights violated and betrayed by those who should under the law protect them.
“Since the President has refused to overhaul his security apparatus to be more responsive to the needs and aspirations of Nigerians or call the security agencies to order, we are left with no option than to say without any iota of doubts that they are acting a script”.
The Catholic bishop however warned that if the killings were not stopped with immediate effect, the entire Christians leaders would not hesitate to tell our followers to resort to self-help by defending themselves against aggressors.
He said, “We the Catholic Bishops of Nigeria have observed with dismay the wanton killings of innocent Nigerians especially Christians in parts of the country as a result of the failure of the government to rise up to their statutory responsibilities of protecting the lives of citizenry.
“It is clear to us that President Buhari has failed in his constitutional responsibilities of protecting Nigerians. It is time for him to tow the path of honour by stepping aside for someone else to save the country from falling apart.
“The gruesome, grisly and dastardly murder of two Catholic priests along with 15 of their parishioners in the early hours of the morning of Tuesday 24th April, 2018 was received with deep shock and utter horror.
“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 land of the middle belt of other parts of Nigeria into a massive graveyard.
“We thereby call on Nigerians to secure and protect themselves and their environment. And this is not the time for the government to stop people from defending themselves; if the people who are paid to protect the citizens have compromised, then our security can not be guaranteed.”
Also, Niger State Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Revd. Mathias Echioda, commended the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) for the peaceful protest, saying, “it was not for Christians only but against the shedding of innocent blood of Nigerians”.