N’ASSEMBLY LEADERSHIP MEETS PRESIDENT THIS WEEK OVER INSECURITY

Adeboye Leads Protest as CAN Demands Overhaul of Architecture

Also yesterday, in line with the decision of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to end its three-day fasting and prayer with a prayer walk yesterday, the General Overseer of The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, led a procession to protest the insecurity and killings in Nigeria.

CAN in Ekiti and Ondo States also embarked on peaceful protests to demonstrate their grievances against the recent killings in the country, especially the murder of the Andimi.

The Christian body used the occasion of the three-day prayer and procession to call on the federal government to overhaul the country’s security system.

At the end of the RCCG’s monthly Thanksgiving Service at its National Headquarters in Ebute Meta, Lagos State, the church commenced the protest from Ebute Meta through Atan Cemetery in Yaba metropolis and back.

Earlier at the church service, Adeboye led his congregation on prayers for the peace and security of the country.

“Lord, have mercy on Nigeria. Let there be peace and security in Nigeria. God sees all things and knows where the terrorists are hiding; we pray that God sends His light to Nigeria and expose the evildoers in the country. After the service, we are all going for a prayer walk. We’ll march according to age. There are some who would march around the church because of their age and there are some who would march with me to Atan Cemetery and back,” he stated.

Adeboye had also instructed all members of his church across Nigeria to embark on the protest.

“The prayer walk was aimed at offering prayers and supplications unto God to save Nigeria from being consumed by insurgents, terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, armed robbers, militants and ritualists in all our states,” he added.

Adeboye displayed several placards saying: ‘No to further killings,’ and urged the governments at all levels to rise up to their civic responsibility of securing the lives and property of citizens.

According to him, “the security infrastructure in our nation needs to be overhauled and improved drastically for the current security challenges to be tamed.”

CAN had declared a threeday fasting and prayer beginning January 31 to empower the government and the military forces in the fight against terrorism and the spate of killings in the country.

CAN President, Dr. Samson Ayokunle, had said the spiritual exercise would end yesterday with a prayer walk.

Adeboye, in a memo dated January 29 and signed by the Assistant General Overseer, Administration and Personnel, Pastor Johnson Odesola, had asked members to seize the opportunity of the programme to pray against killings in the country.

He had also directed that church services should end early in all the parishes to enable members to take part in the walk, which he said should hold within the immediate environment of the churches.

In Ekiti State, the state chapter of CAN also embarked on a peaceful protest to demonstrate their grievances against the recent killings in the country, especially the murder of Andimi.

The procession, which began at 2p.m, took off from the OriApata office of the association located at Adebayo area of Ado-Ekiti and terminated at Fajuyi Park in the metropolis.

The marchers carried several placards with varying inscriptions like: “Stop killings,” “we must unite against killings in Nigeria,” “Christian demands justice,” “All Christians are created equally,” “It is inhuman; don’t take life ,” “Citizens must be protected from killers,” “We, Christians are the main victims,”among others.

Addressing his members, the Chairman of CAN in Ekiti State, Rev. Fr. Peter Olowolafe, lamented the level of insecurity in the country and described it as unbearable.

He explained that “the Christians in the area decided to join others in the country to embark on the peaceful protest in order to express their grievances about the killings in the country.”

Olowolafe cited many killings in the country in recent time to include the murder of Revd Denis Bagauri in his house at Mayo Belwa of Adamawa State.

He called on the federal government to redouble its efforts at making peace to reign in the country.

The Christian community in Ondo State under the umbrella of CAN also joined their counterparts to protest insecurity in Nigeria and particularly the killings and abduction of Christians.

The protest, took off from the First Baptist Church, Oba Adesida Road, through Oja Oba Market, and terminated at the Sacred Heart Cathedral, Akure where prayers were offered for peace and divine protection for Nigerian leaders and the people.

Some of the inscriptions on the placards read: “Nigeria Belongs to All,” “Buhari Must Be Fair to all;” “Nigerian Christians under Attack,” “The killings of Christians Must Stop,” “Enough of Bloodshed In Nigeria,” “Please, Release Leah Sharibu Now,” among others, condemning federal government’s handling of insecurity in the country.

Addressing the gathering, which comprises Christians from various denominations, the Bishop of Ondo Diocese of Catholic Church, Bishop Jude Arogundade, condemned the federal government’s poor handling of security issues in the country.

Arogundade, who was supported by other top priests in the state, said the government had failed in its responsibilities to the people.

He said: “We are here because for so long and for too long we have seen a government that is playing ostrich; that will want to give audience to such organisations like Miyetti Allah and will want to give N100 billion recently and so many other organisations that we know so well in this country.

“This is time for us to speak out clearly. If the government can no longer defend the Christians in this country, we will defend ourselves; it is our right and duty, especially when we can see and can see clearly that government can no longer defend the law-abiding and hard-working Nigerians any more.

“Every country in the world will defend the defenseless, the hardworking, honest and ordinary people but our government continue to look the other way.

“They prefer to arrest those who are protesting against the system rather than those who are destroying the system,” he said.

The bishop added that the Christians have come to pray for the government to know and uphold the truth.

However, Arogundade commended the Ondo State Governor, Mr. Oluwatotimi Akeredolu, for standing out clearly on the need to protect the citizens against insecurity.

“We pray for the governor of Ondo State that God should protect and keep him safe.

“We have heard him clearly and we know his heart. He wants to protect his people and we are here to support him and to support all the authorities of our land who want to work hard to protect the defenceless. May God continue to bless them and show us the way,” he explained.

Also speaking, the Chairman of CAN, Ondo State, Reverend John Ayo Oladapo, expressed optimism that no matter what happened, God will deliver Nigerians.

“We are not happy with the way the federal government is handling security issues. We are not happy with the way the federal government is attending to the people that are being killed in the North and in the nation.

“The federal government has lost direction. They are claiming that the killers are foreigners. Why must federal government allow foreigners to invade our land and be killing us and the federal government look unconcern,” he said.