The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to arrest leaders of the Miyetti Allah organisation over killings in Southern Kaduna, Benue, Plateau and Taraba states, among others. They also condemned the killing of the CAN Chairman, Lawan Andami, in Michika Local Government Area of Adamawa State. The religious body has also urged the federal government to either label the Miyetti Allah Fulani Association a terrorist organisation or order an arrest for its leadership.
In a statement signed by the CAN President, Samson Ayokunle, on Thursday, the association made demands that, “The Federal Government should either label the Miyetti Allah Fulani Association a terrorist organisation as being regarded in the terror index.
“The Federal Government should order the arrest of the leadership of the Miyetti Allah Groups who are sponsoring and perpetuating the crime of Nigeria and prosecute them for all the killings in Southern Kaduna, Benue, Plateau and Taraba states, among others,” CAN said.
Miyetti Allah is the umbrella body of Fulani herders in the country. Periodic bloody conflicts between herders and farmers in parts of the country have led to many death over the years.
“President Muhammadu Buhari has not ceased to tell us that the criminals are coming from Libya, as though Nigeria shares borders with Libya,” CAN said.
Rev. Samson Supo Ayokunle, said in a press conference yesterday, “that Christians have suffered greatly over the years with little or no effort by the federal government to arrest and prosecute the culprits. Ayokunle said that onslaughts by the insurgents and other bandits have made the lives of Christians very unsafe and miserable.”
The Pastor, Mr Andami, who was abducted on January 3 by members the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP), after an attack on Michika town, was killed on Monday by his abductors. The killing came two days after ISWAP claimed to have killed another abducted Christian whose identity has not been made known.
Mr Andami was last seen alive in a video clip shared online by his abductors two weeks ago. In the video, he was heard saying that his abductors “were nice to him.”
CAN, however, accused the Federal Government of refusing “to call Islamic groups to order, but instead insists that the herdsmen are stakeholders in the country.”
In its other demands CAN has also called on the President to overhaul the security council with a view of bringing in new heads of all the security agencies and the para-military with no religion or regional dominance.
“The Federal Government should publish names of all kingpins of the terrorists who are in detention and those who are being prosecuted,” it said.
It also said the Federal Government “should stop releasing the so-called repented terrorists since they are reportedly joining their colleagues in the forest to unleash terror on the land.
“The Federal Government should reverse the recent controversial Police promotion with a view to balancing religious and ethnic divides in the country.
“The Federal Government should stop sending delegation to all Islamic international organisations and let our Muslim counterparts be doing so as we are doing in all international Christian religious organisations.
“The Federal Government should stop discriminating against our female Youth corps who refuse to wear the NYSC trousers for religious reasons since they allow their Muslim counterparts to wear hijab,” the group added.
