Headlines
‘No responsible govt will hold brief for terrorists’
…ECWA lashes at Federal, Kaduna State governments
BY IGWE OKOSO
The General Church Council, GCC of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) has berated the Federal and Kaduna State governments on their handling of the killings in the country, especially the recent incidents in Southern Kaduna, saying, “no responsible government would want to be perceived as holding brief for terrorists unless it is complicit.”
The Church urged the Federal Government to redeem itself, apprehend and prosecute the assailants in Southern Kaduna, and ensure justice as well as compensation for the victims who are left destitute by the activities of the bandits.
According to Vanguard, in a communique issued at the end of the 67th annual GCC meeting of ECWA held at ECWA headquarters in Jos, Plateau State, signed by ECWA President, Rev. Stephen Panya Baba and Secretary-General, Rev. Yunusa Nmadu, the Council “condemned in strong terms the mindless killing of the indigenous Christians in Southern Kaduna over the past few weeks which stressing the killings have assumed a genocidal magnitude.”
According to the communiqué, “The Council notes with grief the several attacks on Southern Kaduna Christian communities, which are the strongholds of ECWA, where over 120 persons including infants and women have been killed in the last two weeks alone, with scores injured and thousands displaced from their villages and farmlands by arm Fulani militia without any care from the Kaduna State and Federal Government.
“No responsible government would want to be perceived as holding brief for terrorists unless it is complicit. Council advocates for a stronger collaboration between the government, the security agencies, and the entire populace to make for robust and rapid response for the protection of human lives and property.
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“The General Council expresses worries at failure of the Federal Government to secure the release of the only Christian girl Leah Sharibu (who was abducted by Boko Haram among many female students of Government Secondary School, Dapchi), Alice Loksha a Christian nurse doing humanitarian service in Borno State, Grace Lucas, Lillian Gyang, and the remaining Chibok girls abducted by Boko Haram.
“The Council also observed with dismay the huge resources being committed to the supposed deradicalization and rehabilitation of the so-called repentant Boko Haram fighters by the military, while millions of their victims are still languishing in deplorable IDP camps, and consider this not to be the best use of taxpayers’ and indeed a complete misplacement of priority.”
The council called on the government to ensure accountability, prudence and transparency in the management of resources, eschew sectionalism, and be wary of unbridled indebtedness to foreign governments, especially those whose loan terms threaten our sovereignty as a nation.
The 67th ECWA General Council also confirmed the creation of two additional District Church Councils, DCCs namely, Kaduna-East DCC carved out of the Kasuwan Magani DCC and Bauchi- South DCC from Bauchi DCC. With these two additional DCCs, ECWA worldwide now has a total of 88 DCCs.