DEMAND FOR JUSTICE FOR CHRISTIAN VICTIM OF
ALLEGED BLASPHEMY: PRESS STATEMENT BY THE CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (CAN).
Dr Ayokunle, CAN President
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is deeply saddened by
the news of the release without trial of the five suspects accused
of killing a 74 year old Christian woman in Kano, Mrs Bridget Agbahime
who was murdered sometime in June, 2016. This is a highly provocative and
insultive act on our collective sensitivities as a democratic nation if the
newspapers reports are correct.
The Association condemns the continuous act of killing of
innocent Nigerians under the pretence of blasphemy and considers the willful
absence of justice for victims of these mindless killings in Nigeria by the
relevant authorities as a very serious constitutional breach and security
threat to our unity and collective survival as a nation. The now-familiar
tradition of avoidance to arrest or properly investigate and prosecute cases
involving the deliberate killing of innocent Nigerians is evidence of a
scripted plan to operate another nation within the Nigerian state and to deny
justice to those who truly deserve justice.
The cardinal responsibility of Government to protect the lives
and property of the citizens is sacrosanct and must not be sacrificed on the
altar of religious convenience. As it stands today, there is no single
prosecution record of any criminal who killed under the pretence of blasphemy
in Nigeria despite the number of victims and incontrovertible facts showing that
those killings were done in daylight and mostly by persons who live within the
communities where these heinous crimes were committed.
The Association calls on the Kano State Government and the
Inspector General of Police to execute justice on behalf of the blood calling
out for it. The act of condoning crass criminality in the name of
blasphemy deserves greater attention and broader treatment in this era of
transforming the mindset of the citizens to work toward progressive change.
CAN deeply sympathizes with the family of the Kano victim over
the rather very sad outcome of the case and assures that the pursuit of justice
is a noble task of all well-meaning citizens working together toward a more
decent and better society.
As the umbrella body of Christians in Nigeria, we will not
relent in our effort to ensure that justice is served on the religiously
intolerant and to ensure that all Nigerians are treated equally irrespective of
their faith, social status and where they come from.
Evang. Barr. Kwamkur
Samuel
Director Legal and Public Affairs, CAN
Director Legal and Public Affairs, CAN
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