…As Okoh, Sa’ad call for intensified action to curb menace.
by Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Archbishop Daniel Okoh, and Islamic leader, Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammed Sa’ad Abubakar, have expressed displeasure over the spate of kidnappings and killing in the country.
The co-chairmen of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) urged the government to tackle the menace “before it gets out of hand.”
A statement yesterday in Abuja by the Executive Secretary of NIREC, Fr. Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua, indicated that the body is greatly perturbed over the present exponential increase in the level of insecurity in the country.
It reads in parts: “The Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), under the leadership of His Eminence, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), and His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammed Sa’ad Abubakar, CFR, mni, Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), is greatly perturbed over the present exponential increase in the level of insecurity in the country.
“The rates at which banditry, abductions and killings are increasing in the country are beyond alarming, and there is the need to bring these heinous acts to an end.
“These spates of attacks within the window period of one week is very disheartening and of great concern. NIREC, therefore, calls on the government and security agencies to intensify their efforts to eradicate these menaces in our society so that citizens can go about their normal businesses without fear or apprehension.
“The council would also like to commiserate with the families of all those, who lost their lives because of these disdainful acts, and also pray that all those that are still in captivity would be safely reunited with their loved ones.
“Finally, the council would like to call on all Nigerians to be cautious, vigilant and report any suspicious activity, as security is a collective effort and not just for the government alone,” it stated.