Kaduna CAN welcomes judgment on religious preaching bill

Kaduna State Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, has welcomed the judgment of the court on the Bill seeking to regulate religious preaching in the state.

The association described the judgment as a huge relief to all peace-loving people in the state.

Chairman of CAN in Kaduna State, Rev. Joseph Hayab said at a press conference in Kaduna, that the association had suspected that the bill could be an attempt to bully the different faiths professed in the state and might be aimed at obstructing religious preaching..

He said the association stands with the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) Kaduna State Chapter to legally pursue the matter to the apex court of the land.

He said while the government may appeal against the judgment, it is the position of CAN that the Governor Nasir El-Rufai administration should rather than dissipate valuable time and energy on a matter with a propensity to create further misunderstanding in the state, focus its attention on the security challenges bedevilling the state.

He said, “Manifestly, the government seems to have failed in its key responsibility of safeguarding lives and property of the people as stated in section 14 (2b) of the 1999 constitution as amended since armed bandits now, than ever before, continue to cause hapless citizens havoc at any time they so wish without fear of been captured.”

“In fact, it is no longer news that people within Kaduna State are repeatedly being robbed, abducted or killed by armed bandits, often identified as Fulani herdsmen almost on a daily basis. Consequently, families and relations have had to cough out huge sums of money, amid scarce resources, to pay ransom to kidnappers to have their abducted relations freed.”

The CAN chairman said more worrisome is the fact that recently the United Kingdom listed Kaduna State among the 21 states in Nigeria considered as red danger zones where British citizens and other Europeans are advised against visiting.

“We, as a result, call on El-Rufai to devote his energy and attention to addressing the unending challenge of constant kidnappings of our people on the highway, in their farms and homes.”