The lamentation of Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Reverend Mathew Hassan Kukah, sums up the agony and apprehension in the land over the activities of bandits, which seem to have continued unchallenged.
At the flag-off of the 70th Anniversary Lecture of the Order of the Knight of Saint Mulumba, at the St. Leo’s Catholic Church, Ikeja, Lagos, a downcast Bishop Kukah, made public, that the kidnappers, who abducted two Priests from his Diocese in Sokoto, are currently demanding N200 million as ransom.
“As I speak, for the past three weeks, my Priest, a young man and a sister are still in captivity even though the Nigerian state wishes to pretend that we are not negotiating with the kidnappers.
“We are negotiating with the kidnappers as I’m talking because I don’t know how else to get back my Priest.
“It is a very painful experience. My blood relations have been kidnapped. I have lost a seminarian to kidnappers and somehow we like to pretend we have a government.
“Of course, we have the apparatus of government, we have the scaffolding, but this scaffolding is important because people can see access to and appropriate resources of the state.
“As to what the state needs to do, they are still far away from reality. It is a very painful and sad reality that as at the last conversation with the kidnappers, we have negotiated up to N20 million, which I do not have.”
While the above drama is not yet concluded, Rev. Fr. Vitus Borogo, who was abducted last week Saturday at his Prison Farm, Kujama, along Kaduna-Kachia Road, after a raid on the farm, was killed by the kidnappers exactly a week after his adoption.
The 50-years old Priest was the Chaplain of the Catholic Community of the Kaduna State Polytechnic. He was also the Chairman of the Nigerian Catholic Diocesan Priests Association (NCDPA), Kaduna Chapter.
Similarly, over 50 Parishioners were killed during worship at the St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, some weeks ago.
The rampaging bandits, on Sunday, 26th June 2022, again attacked St. Michael’s Catholic Church, in the rustic village of Ikabigbo, Uzairue in Estako West Local Government Area of Edo State. In this incident, Rev. Fr. Christopher Odia, was abducted from his residence at the Ikabigbo Catholic Church Parish at about 6:30 am.
The Catholic Church confirmed the death of Odia, 24 hours after he was adopted;
“With heavy hearts but with total submission to the will of God, we announce the death of our Priest, Rev. Father Christopher Odia, who was killed by his abductors after being kidnapped on the morning of June 26, 2022, in his rectory while coming out to go for Sunday Mass at St. Michael Catholic Church, Ikabigbo, Uzairue, Edo State.
“Rev. Father Odia before he was kidnapped, was the Administrator of St. Michael’s Catholic Church, Ikabigbo and also the Principal of St. Philip’s Catholic Secondary School, Jattu. He was 41 years old.”
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As tension continues to mount over the activities of bandits, some States and individuals have begun to map out ways and means to secure their lives and properties.
It was therefore not surprising, when the government of Zamfara State, in a special state government announcement, directed citizens to secure a gun license to defend their lives and properties.
The Zamfara State Government said this extreme measure is necessitated;” because of the increase in the activities of bandits in various parts of the state and the government commitment to ensure adequate security and protection of lives and property of the citizens in the state, particularly during this rainy season, the government has resolved to take further measures to deal with the recent escalating attacks, kidnapping and the criminal levies being enforced on our innocent communities.
“This act of terrorism has been a source of worry and concern to the people and government of the state. Therefore, in order to deal decisively with the situation in our respective communities, government has no option than to take the following measures: Government has henceforth, directed individuals to prepare and obtain guns to defend themselves against the bandits, as the government has directed the state commissioner of police to issue licenses to all those who qualify and are wishing to obtain such guns to defend themselves. Government is ready to facilitate people, especially our farmers, to secure basic weapons for defending themselves. Government has already concluded an arrangement to distribute 500 forms to each of the 19 Emirates in the state for those willing to obtain guns to defend themselves.”
Amidst this worsening insecurity in the country, the Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical Province and Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, His Grace Most Rev. Emmanuel Chukwuma, has warned that a revolution is coming to chase away those holding Nigeria down.
Bishop Chukwuma asked President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government to resign if it can no longer find solutions to the security problems facing the country.
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