Hold Buhari, Sultan responsible for killing of 11 Christians on Christmas day – NCEF

 

• “More than any individual, President Buhari should be held responsible for the audacity, expansion, and unbridled atrocities of ISWAP, Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria. He not only deliberately created the atmosphere for Islamic insurgency to thrive in Nigeria he has adopted ‘repentant’ terrorists into the Nigerian Army.”

 

BY OUR EDITOR

The National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) has indicted President Muhammadu Buhari and the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar, for the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

In fact, the Christian elders said that both Buhari and Abubakar should be held responsible for the audacity, expansion, and unbridled atrocities of the terrorist groups Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Boko Haram and of course, the menace of herdsmen in the country.

NCEF was particularly outraged by the murder of 11 innocent Nigerian Christians on Christmas Day, 2019 and continued persecution of Christians in the northern parts of Nigeria.

VANGUARD reports that NCEF’s bold statement came as the plight of the teenage Christian girl, Leah Sharibu, who has been in captivity two years on in the hands of the Boko Haram terror group continues to draw local and international attention.

The International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) Regional Secretary for English and Portuguese-speaking Africa and founder/convener, Para-Mallam Peace Foundation, Rev. Gideon Para-Mallam, has called on the Nigerian government to ensure that Miss Sharibu does not spend the new year in the den of the terror group.

NCEF Chairman, Elder Solomon Asemota, SAN, in a statement said, the 11 affected Christians were abducted by ISWAP, a faction of Boko Haram, pointing out, that 13 men were shown in a video pleading for deliverance while 11 were eventually killed.

READ: Sultan insincere, living in denial – CAN

This came few days after the Sultan of Sokoto had said he was shocked by the claim of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) that Christians were being persecuted in the country.

Said NCEF: “Two of the captives were released because they are Muslims while the remaining 11 were presumably killed due to their Christian faith. Ten of the Christians were beheaded while the 11th was shot dead.

“Timing the gruesome murder of these innocent Christians to Christmas Day was a certain signal of the Islamic insurgents deliberately desecrating the day in which Christians worldwide marked the birth of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world and the central figure of the Christian faith. It was not only a heinous crime, but it was also provocative and insulting.

“More than any individual, President Buhari should be held responsible for the audacity, expansion, and unbridled atrocities of ISWAP, Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria. He not only deliberately created the atmosphere for Islamic insurgency to thrive in Nigeria he has adopted ‘repentant’ terrorists into the Nigerian Army.

“If President Buhari is sincere that Islamic terrorists are ‘godless, callous gangs of mass murderers’, he should immediately re-organise the national security units that are solely in the control of Muslims from the North of Nigeria in compliance with the Federal Character Principle in Section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution.

“In addition, all the terrorists that have been assimilated into the Nigeria Army should be dismissed. At the most, they could be constituted into Civilian Task Force if they are willing to help combat terror in the land. No sensible government, anywhere in the world, adopts terrorists into its Army.

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“Our suspicion is that the statement of President Buhari is for the benefit of United States of America which recently placed Nigeria on its Special Watch List (SWL). However, President Buhari has the opportunity to prove us wrong by ensuring that the murderous Fulani herdsmen from his ethnic group are arrested and prosecuted,” the Elders stated.

“NCEF will however, take President Buhari by his word that ‘We should, under no circumstance, let the terrorists divide us by turning Christians against Muslims.’ Presently Nigeria is divided under its conflict of ideologies which produced one country, two systems.

“The current distress in the country is caused by the conflict between Democracy and Sharia ideologies. It is the Sharia ideology that emboldens Islamic terrorists in the country and until it is dismantled as competing national ideology, the country will not know peace.

“President Buhari has done more than any leader in this country to inflame this conflict of ideologies. In its paper of December 11, 2019 titled: ‘Sowore Court Saga: Welcome to Sharia’ the NCEF provided information that Nigeria is running under Shari’a ideology rather than democracy which President Buhari had sworn to uphold.

“We insist that the solution to the problem of Islamic terrorism in Nigeria is for democracy to remain the only national ideology as designed by the founding fathers of this country. If Mr. President is sincerely committed to the unity of Nigeria, he should promote democracy.

“NCEF is also not unaware of the statement credited to the Sultan of Sokoto that ‘Christians in Nigeria not persecuted.’ NCEF will want to conclude that the Sultan of Sokoto was misquoted as the statement coming from a traditional ruler of his stature would not be in accord with statesmanship.

“Denying the obvious under the circumstances could hardly be described as a suitable solution to problems threatening the corporate existence of the country.

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“We will not want to link this statement with another statement of the Sultan in 2011 in Harvard, USA, in which His Eminence said: ‘I do not recognise any Nigerian Constitution and the only Constitution I recognise is the Koran’.

“This pregnant statement which outrightly rejected democracy and accepted Sharia could easily be interpreted to have escalated the current Sharia-induced religious insurgency and intolerance in Nigeria.

“NCEF implores both President Buhari and the Sultan of Sokoto, as Fulani Muslims, and leaders of the Islamic Ummah to open up dialogue with the rest of the country to resolve these problems caused by religious intolerance in Nigeria.

“Already, other Muslim countries in the world are relaxing their erstwhile hard Islamic stance in order to operate meaningfully in modern multi-cultural, multi-religious and multi-ethnic societies. For example: Saudi Arabia has officially banned child marriage under 18 years. Sudan has apologised to Christians in the country. The Minister of Religious Affairs, Nasredin Mofreh, apologised to Sudanese Christians ‘for the oppression and harm inflicted on your bodies, the destruction of your temples, the theft of your property, and the unjust arrest and prosecution of your servants and confiscation of church buildings.’

“The Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok of Sudan on Christmas Eve tweeted a photo with prominent activist Natalina Yacoub and said that he seeks to build a Sudan ‘that respects diversity and enables all Sudanese citizens to practice their faith in a safe and dignified environment. Sudan celebrated Christmas for the first time in 10 years.”

Buhari urged to secure Leah’s freedom

Para-Mallam called on President Buhari and others to do more to secure the release of Leah Sharibu and others from Boko Haram’s captivity ahead of the new year, noting that it was unacceptable that Leah Sharibu should still be in captivity almost two years after because of her faith.

He said: “Christmas is a time of celebration but not for Leah Sharibu, the courageous Christian girl who unfortunately is spending her second Christmas in captivity. Christmas is a period for family reunion, fellowship and celebration in Africa and indeed around the world. People are right now celebrating but not everyone can celebrate.

“How can Leah celebrate Christmas in captivity? How can Leah’s parents celebrate? How can those of us who yearn to see Leah freed celebrate?”

Rev. Para-Mallam said feelers indicate that the Nigerian Government’s efforts have so far fallen short. “Leah is still in captivity nearly two years on. This is unacceptable with a government in place. The international community appears unconcerned about the plight of this 16-year-old innocent girl. Leah’s case is also a human rights issue and remains a justice issue. Her freedom of belief is being undermined because of her Christian faith.”