The Department of
State Services under the leadership of the Daura, Katsina State born Alhaji
Lawal Musa Daura has been tasked to halt ongoing psychological and
physical persecution and torture of Christian leaders.
This is the
position of a Pro-democracy and Non-Governmental organization- HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA
(HURIWA).
In a statement, the National
Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director
Miss Zainab Yusuf condemned as selective persecution and harassment,
the recent interrogation of National leadership of Christian Association of
Nigeria over a global campaigns to attract funds to rebuild churches destroyed
by Boko haram terrorists in North East.
The group said
there was absolutely nothing untoward for Christian leaders to canvass for
genuine funding support to carry out evangelism including the rebuilding
of Churches destroyed by Islamic terror group of boko haram particularly when
Christianity is a Universal Religion just like the Islamic Religion.
The Rights group
said the action of DSS amounts to profiling of Christian leaders only
because of their religious status even as it dismisses the action as absolutely
discriminatory and therefore unlawful and unconstitutional.
HURIWA said it was
unbecoming of a statutory agency of the Nigerian government to assume the
unconstitutional duty of profiling only one major religious group in a secular
state over the genuine intentions of the leadership of the Christians to
legitimately seek international funding assistance to rebuild places of worship
destroyed by violent Islamic terror group of boko haram in the North East.
Expressing
consternation that the Department of State Services (DSS) has never
interrogated leaders of the Islamic religion who constantly collect funds
from international Islamic bodies in Saudi Arabia amongst other places,
wondered when it has become a crime for the Christian leaders to scout
for genuine funds to implement credible religious obligations of building
befitting places of worship which in any case were destroyed because the
government funded security forces including the Department of State Services
failed to prevent the attacks by boko haram.
HURIWA said the
Constitution in Chapter four has explicitly made freedom of religion guaranteed
and section 10 of the Constitution emphatically says there is no state religion
just as it asked the DSS to face her primary duty of providing better security
environment by going after armed terror groups and such other mass murderers
like the armed Fulani herdsmen instead of constantly subjecting Innocent
Christian religion leaders to needless interrogation.
The Rights group
would rather want DSS to deploy intelligent gathering efforys to thwart the
massive inflow of small arms and sophisticated weapons by a range of freelance
armed hoodlums wrecking havoc all across Nigeria.
“Why is the DSS
going after Christian leaders for canvassing international assistance to rebuild
churches when groups in the opposite Islamic religion are known to heve
received billions of foreign denominated currencies from abroad to build up
their places of worship? Other faithbased bodies including Atheists are also
known to be receiving funding support from all over the World legitimately. Why
this selective witchunt of Christians especially when the Moslem governor of
Kaduna state is quoted to have alleged that Christian leaders are using the
attacks against Christians to generate incomes? Does the DSS take orders from
Nassir ElRuffai who had also called for the arrest of Apostle Johnson Suleiman
of the Omega Fire ministry and short thereafter the DSS interrogated him afyer
a botched kidnapping attempt in Ekiti state? This is unjust and unconstitutional”.
Apart from the
basic freedoms guaranteed under the constitution which authorizes Christian
leaders to legitimately run their religious bodies, HURIWA said
the selective targeting of Christian leaders who are scouting for international
funding assistance amounted to a violation of section 42 (1) because the action
of the DSS is completely discriminatory.
Specifically, Section
42 (1) of the Constitution states thus: “A citizen of Nigeria of a
particular community, ethnic group, place of origin, sex, religion or political
opinion shall not, by reason only that he is such a person:- (a) be subjected
either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in
Nigeria or any executive or administrative action of the government, to
disabilities or restrictions to which citizens of Nigeria of other communities,
ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religions or political opinions are not
made subject.”
Section 38 (1) of the
Constitution affirms thus: “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of
thought, conscience and religion, including freedom to change his religion or
belief, and freedom (either alone or in community with others, and in public or
in private) to manifest and propagate his religion or belief in worship, teaching,
practice and observance.”
HURIWA recalled that the
Department of State Services (DSS) has reportedly quizzed the members of the
Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) over a
video some Christian leaders have allegedly been using to mobilize funds for
the rebuilding of churches destroyed by Boko Haram.
Among those that
were interrogated by the DSS were a former Chief of General Staff, Lt. Gen.
Joshua Dogonyaro (retd.), representing TEKAN/ECWA bloc of CAN; a retired High
Court Judge, Justice Kalajine Anigbogu, representing the Christian Council of
Nigeria bloc; Mrs. Osaretin Demuren, representing the Organisation of African
Instituted Churches and a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of
Nigeria, Mr. Tunde Lemo, representing the Christian Pentecostal Fellowship of
Nigeria and Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria.
HURIWA learnt that
they were quizzed for four hours, on Tuesday evening, at the DSS
headquarters in Abuja, over a video by CAN Trust Fund soliciting funds for CAN
to rebuild churches destroyed by Boko Haram insurgents in the North-East.
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