«Human beings are being slaughtered regularly by terrorists who are suspected to have targeted the Christians. Security of life and property can no longer be guaranteed in Nigeria,» said His Exc. Mgr. Paulinus Chukwuemeka Ezeokafor, Bishop of Awka, State of Anambra, in southern Nigeria, who made a call for the establishment of local and state security organs to tackle security challenges in all parts of the Country. The Bishop stressed that there are discrepancies between the various local security apparatuses, and recalled how two priests of the Catholic Diocese of Awka were kidnapped in Ondo State and were rescued, using the Anambra State Government’s security apparatus. This State – he stressed – is relatively safe, compared to other States of the Federation, reported Fides News Agency.
According to Mgr. Ezeokafor, the federal government should support the local security apparatus such as the Amotekun (Leopard) operation set up on January 9 this year by the governors of 6 States in southwestern Nigeria (Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, and Ekiti) to coordinate the respective security organs.
That of Mgr. Ezeokafor is only the latest call of Catholic bishops who denounce violence, in particular against Christians, asking federal and local authorities to guarantee everyone’s safety. At the funeral of the seminarian kidnapped and then killed in the state of Kaduna, in north-western Nigeria, His Exc. Mgr. Matthew Hassan Kukah, Bishop of Sokoto, addressed harsh words against President Muhammadu Buhari, who had been elected on the promise to restore security in the country. Kukah contested not only the insecurity that reigns in Nigeria but also the policies that have deepened the ethnic and religious divisions between North and South.
