The National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Rev. Samson Ayokunle, has enjoined the Federal Government to urgently address the security challenges in the country.
Speaking in Jalingo, capital of Taraba State, on a visit to provide relief materials to victims of attacks by herdsmen, the CAN President said the security challenges in parts of the country should be addressed to avoid any possible civil rebellion.
He noted that the continued attacks on helpless farmers, which often lead to loss of lives and property and peoples’ displacement from their homes was totally unacceptable.
“The seeming indifference on the part of government to bring the perpetrators to book is a clear call to civil rebellion,” he explained.
Ayokunle urged the government to not only provide security for the people but to also arrest those responsible for the criminal acts, investigate their sources of arms and ammunitions.
“The time has come for us to begin to pay higher premium on human lives. We can not continue to have people killed and displaced from their ancestral homes for no fault of theirs, while government seems to turn a blind eye to all of these.
“This is an invitation to civil rebellion that would be too much for the government to handle. You must understand that no one has the monopoly to violence.
“These herdsmen attack with sophisticated weapons and operate with impunity. Government should provide adequate security for the people and make sure that the perpetrators are arrested and the sources of their arms and ammunitions thoroughly investigated and punished accordingly.
“If this is not done and the people resort to self help, I don’t see how government would be able to contain it. If government can not handle the situation, then, the respective states should be allowed to set up their own security systems to battle the situation,” he observed.
Earlier, leader of the Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, camps in Jalingo, Mr. Dauda Marafa, informed the National President of CAN that he lost over 100 IDPs in January 2019 alone due to the lack of food and other basic necessities of life.