The Diocese of Minna Anglican Communion, has expressed concern over what it referred to as “target” killing of Christians in parts of Nigeria and urged the federal government to urgently put up measure to halt the trend.
In a communique issued at the end of the second session of the 10th synod of the Diocese on Sunday in Minna, the body expressed worries over the “unabated, wanton and target” killing of Christians especially in Kajuru, Plateau, Nasarawa, Taraba and Adamawa states.
The Synod in a communique signed by the Diocesan Communicator, Elder Akin Alofetekun called on the Federal Government to “show deliberate commitment at preventing total annihilation of Christians in Nigeria”.
It also lamented the “unprecedented level of persecution of Christians going on worldwide on daily basis as evidenced by denials of rights to obtain permit to build churches, bombing and vandalization of their places of worship, promulgation of obnoxious blasphemy laws with selective applications targeting Christians”.
It appreciated the resilience of Nigerians in general and the Christians in particular in the face of the unmitigated economic, political, social pressures being daily unleashed on them by the system under which they have found themselves.
It called for the release of Kajuru leaders in detention and the remaining Chibok girls and Leah Sharibu in Boko Haram hands the same way it expeditiously handled the cases of two Nigerians condemned to death for drug related cases in Saudi Arabia recently.
It frowned at the “total dominance of the top echelon of security agencies-military and para military” by people of the same religion and the impact on the psyche of the people of the other faith who are now being seeing as not trustworthy or competent to occupy such positions, while calling reorganisation of the security apparatus of the country for effectiveness.
The synod noted with concern the trend of brazen daylight kidnapping of individuals and travellers on highways and the unabating attacks by armed herdsmen across the country and advised the Federal Government to be wary of integrating the so called repentant Boko Haram into the society.