CAN President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, on Tuesday condemned the killing of no fewer than 12 worshippers in Potiskum, Yobe State and Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, on Monday when gunmen suspected to be members of dreaded Islamic sect, Boko Haram, attacked two churches in the Northern Nigerian towns.
Oritsejafor, who is the founder of Word of Life Bible Church in Warri, Delta state, described the incident as a “bestial act against a people exercising their rights to worship”.
He said, “It is highly disturbing and very barbaric; it is archaic. It is totally against God and anything that has to do with Him. You wonder how people will go to this extent in the name of God.
“Let us not continue to deny that there are jihadists, extremists and Islamists in this country. They are here. Let us agree that it is time for us to take certain steps to bring this madness to an end.”
He urged the worshippers in the area not to succumb to evil perpetrators by absconding their ancestral homes, stressing that doing so would be tantamount to cowardice.
Oritsejafor explained that although he was not cut out to disparage adherents of other faiths, the truth must be told.
He said, “Let me again say that I have high respect and regard for my Muslim friends and brothers. I’m not against Muslims. We need their help. We have been saying it and we will continue to say it. Not only do we appeal to them to condemn it, we are asking that they must help us take this message to the grassroots.
“We (Christians) are not their enemies. The clerics that preach in the mosques, they should help us spread this news. With this goodwill, they will be able to flush out those people from among them.”
The CAN President added, “These people are not really helping them. They are destroying their economy. When things like these happen, many (northern leaders) come out to condemn these acts. Condemning it as it is now is not enough. They must go a step further. They must condemn these acts. Nigeria belongs all of us and we must join hands together to make this nation what it is supposed to be.”
fellis: Allah is the word used to refer to God even before the Islamic era. Allah was used by Arabic speaking Jews and Christians to refer to the supreme diety, the ... DB Mall
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