CAN President
Nigerian Christians will on August 23 hold intercessory prayer over the worsening security situation in the country.
Daramola Bade, Secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), the umbrella body of all Christians in the country, announced this in a statement on August 13.
Security situation in world most populous black nation in the world has deteriorated in the last few months with scores killed in the Christian-dominated Southern Kaduna in the north west region of the country.
CAN said the collective prayer session of 15 minutes for Nigeria is meant to tell God in one accord to have His way and do His will in Nigeria.
It said there was a need to pray to God for a lasting solution on the issue of security challenges in the country.
In July, the association, CAN had lamented the destruction of lives and property in Southern Kaduna and other states in the north, saying the clearly showed that Nigeria was at war against enemies of the state.
It said despite assurances from both the federal and Kaduna State Government to nip the crisis in the bud, “the spiralling of these assaults have indisputably shown that these demons of murder are yet to sheathe their sword against Southern Kaduna communities and that the government appears not to be sincere in walking the talk.”
A group, International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, in a recent report, said about 1,200 Christians in Nigeria were killed in the first half of 2020.
It said the killings were carried out by Islamist militants and members of predominantly Muslim Fulani group.
It said, “Thousands of defenceless Christians who survived being hacked to death have also been injured and left in mutilated conditions with several of them crippled for life.
“Hundreds of Christian worship and learning centres have been destroyed or burnt; likewise thousands of dwelling houses, farmlands and other properties belonging to Christians.”
The group said Christians are mainly the target of the Fulani herdsmen and not the widely-held speculation that the attacks are part of a dispute over land.
A U.S-based group, Open Door, in a report in January, ranked Nigeria 12th among 50 nations of the world where Christian are most persecuted.