The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has declared January 8, 2017 a national day of mourning over the killings in Southern Kaduna and other part of the country.
The day would be observed as a fervent day of prayer and empathy for those affected by the crisis.
A statement signed by the CAN general secretary Rev. Musa Asake on Friday blamed the president for prolong silence over the crisis saying, the silence was perceived as “official endorsement of the dastardly and ungodly acts”.
The statement reads: “In view of the present predicament, the president of CAN has directed that Sunday, January 8, be declared a national day of mourning by all Christians, including those in the diaspora. We are to pray fervently for our southern Kaduna brothers and sisters who are victims of these wanton killings and also for the peace of our dear country, Nigeria”.
“While we commend President Muhammadu Buhari for waging war against the Boko Haram fundamentalists since his assumption of office, his silence in the ongoing genocide in the last few weeks speaks volumes over the perceived official endorsement of the dastardly and ungodly acts.
“We know that southern Kaduna has been under 24 hour curfew daily as directed by the governor, yet the enemies of the people are still prowling going from house to house, killing defenceless people, without government protection. The security operatives in the area appear to be turning blind eyes to the killings.
“The recent defence of the president’s silence that the president has received briefing from the governor of Kaduna State over the matter is unacceptable because the presidency knows that the people of the affected area had already protested against the governor’s unacceptable biased handling of the continued killings. Common sense tells anyone that at that instance, the president has to more directly wade in because lives are involved. The continuous killings have shown that the governor of Kaduna state lacks the will power to arrest the situation and bring it under effective control”.
The Christian body also condemned the explanations given by a presidential aide, Femi Adesina, on why the president has not commented on the killings.
Mr. Adesina had said that the president cannot comment on everything as the country is a federation. He said Governor Nasir El-Rufai had demonstrated capacity in handling the situation in the state.
