Catholic Bishops under the aegis of Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) say the country’s government has not shown sufficient willingness to end the killings by Boko Haram terrorists and herdsmen in the country, Punch is reporting.
The Conference president, Augustine Akubeze and Secretary, Camillus Umoh, stated this in a statement to mark the Ash Wednesday to mark the beginning of the 40-day Lenten period.
It said the failure of the government to arrest the criminals showed its insincerity and lack of commitment to protecting lives and property in the country.
“The level of insecurity in Nigeria today is such that whether at home or on the road, most Nigerians, in all the parts of the country, live in fear,” the Conference said.
“The repeated barbaric execution of Christians by the Boko Haram insurgents and the incessant cases of kidnapping for ransom linked to the same group and other terrorists have traumatised many citizens.
“The perpetrators of these heinous crimes make public show of them on social media and Nigerians, do not fear of any arrest or prosecution of the criminals raise grave questions about the ability and willingness of the government to protect the lives of the ordinary Nigerians.
“To make matters worse, many communities are constantly threatened, harassed and sometimes even sacked by herdsmen, as they seek to take over more territories to graze their cattle forcefully.”
The Conference asked the international community to help the government to defeat the terrorists.
“We equally appeal to the international community to come to the aid of the Nigerian government in the fight against these daredevil terrorists, who want to graze our country. The consequences, should they succeed, will be grave not only for the West African sub-region but also for Africa as a whole.”