The Christian Association of Nigeria, South East Chapter has urged the authorities to ensure security of lives and property in Kaduna.
The South East CAN Chairman, Bishop Goddy Okafor, made the call in Aba, Abia State on Sunday while addressing newsmen on the persistent bloodbath in Southern Kaduna.
Okafor, of the Glorious Gospel Centre, Aba, Abia State, said failure to stop the killings in the state was creating fears in the minds of citizens about their safety in their own country.
He said: “The killings going on in Southern Kaduna are very disturbing.
“We are one people and we believe we are one nation, but for these persistent killings going on in Southern Kaduna to keep occurring without drastic measures to stop it is very disturbing.
“These people that are being killed in Kaduna are Nigerians.
“Governments and security agencies owe it as a duty to protect them.
“The protection of lives and property is the responsibility of the government.
“Every time there are killings, some bandits are blamed.
“So, we keep asking: these bandits, are they really human beings or spirits?”
Okafor said Nigeria is a great nation with a future, if well governed.
He noted that if citizens should wallow in doubt of their citizenship rights, it would not benefit the country.
Okafor urged governments to clear any doubt in the minds of Nigerians about the source of the killings by stopping them.
The cleric urged the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, to do all in his powers to curb the killings in the state.
Okafor also urged Police authorities to ensure their men did more intelligence gathering.
He warned that incidences as killings and banditry should not continue if Nigeria was to know peace and security.
The bishop further spoke about the health challenges in the country and pleaded with medical personnel planning to leave the country to jettison the idea.
He stressed that the development if not halted would endanger Nigeria’s healthcare system.
Okafor, therefore, urged the government to provide what the professionals needed to perform creditably and to enjoy their work in order to discourage their emigration.
He said: “If we lose all our good hands, when we are sick, who will take care of us?
“Government should listen to NMA (Nigeria Medical Association) and keep the best doctors we have with us here.”
Okafor expressed dismay at the rate at which Nigerian youth engaged in cultism and other crimes.
He reiterated the need for Nigerian youth to be given a sense of direction in life through job creation.
