The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has asked the federal government to declare a state of emergency on security nationwide, citing rising killings, kidnappings, terrorist attacks, and the destruction of communities.
key highlight:
Summary Points
- CAN has called for a nationwide state of emergency on security due to escalating killings, kidnappings, terrorist attacks, and community destruction across Nigeria.
- The association urged the federal government to reform the security system through better intelligence, stronger inter-agency cooperation, and greater accountability.
- CAN demanded the creation of state police and other decentralized security structures to improve local security and rapid response.
- The group called for the immediate release of all abducted citizens, especially schoolchildren and teachers, and urged security agencies to intensify rescue efforts.
- CAN declared June 12–14, 2026, as days of national mourning, with June 14 designated as Black Sunday to honor victims of violence and support affected families.
The call was part of resolutions reached at the National Church Denominational Leaders’ Summit held at the National Christian Centre, Abuja.
The summit with the theme: “The State of the Nation and the Way Forward,” addressed worsening insecurity, economic hardship, and declining public confidence in state institutions.
In a communiqué issued after the meeting, church leaders expressed deep concern that thousands of Nigerians have been displaced from their ancestral communities, with many families living in fear due to persistent violence and criminality.
Participants cited recent mass abductions, killings, and attacks in Oyo, Ogun, Borno, Benue, Kogi, and other states.
They raised particular alarm over the kidnapping of schoolchildren and teachers, attacks on farming communities, and the spread of violent crime into areas once considered safe.
“CAN expresses profound alarm over the escalating violence across Nigeria, including killings, kidnappings, abductions, terrorist attacks, and the destruction of communities,” the communiqué read.
The association condemned what it called “barbaric acts of murder, beheading, torture, rape, abduction and forced displacement.”
It urged the federal government to take urgent, decisive, and measurable action to restore public confidence and protect lives and property.
CAN called for a comprehensive review of the nation’s security architecture, stronger intelligence gathering, improved inter-agency cooperation, and greater accountability in the fight against terrorism, banditry, and violent crime.
The Christian body also demanded the immediate acceleration of constitutional and legislative processes to establish state police and other lawful decentralised security structures.
It said such structures would improve intelligence gathering, rapid response, and local accountability.
It further demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all abducted schoolchildren, teachers, and other citizens in captivity, and urged security agencies to intensify rescue operations.
As part of its resolutions, CAN declared Friday, June 12, 2026, as the start of three days of national mourning, to run through Sunday, June 14.
It also designated June 14 as Black Sunday, across churches in Nigeria to honour victims of violence and stand in solidarity with affected families.
CAN called on the Nigeria Labour Congress, Nigerian Bar Association, Nigerian Union of Teachers, student bodies, civil society organisations, traditional institutions, and other stakeholders to join efforts to hold government accountable and sustain pressure for the protection of lives and property.
The call comes amid growing outrage over recent mass abductions.
On May 15, armed bandits attacked three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, abducting 39 pupils and seven teachers, including a vice principal.
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A school worker was killed during the attack. Michael Oyedokun, a kidnapped mathematics teacher, was later reportedly beheaded.
In response, President Bola Tinubu approved the deployment of 1,000 forest guards while security agencies intensified rescue efforts.
Governor Seyi Makinde and a federal government delegation visited the affected communities, assuring residents that efforts to free the abductees were ongoing.
The incident triggered widespread outrage. Teachers in Oyo State began an indefinite strike, and the Nigeria Union of Teachers staged solidarity protests nationwide.
A similar attack occurred the same day in Borno State, where 42 pupils were abducted in Askira-Uba Local Government Area, raising fresh fears of a resurgence in mass school kidnappings across Nigeria.
