Kaduna, 27 October, 2021 / 8:45 pm (ACI Africa).
Christian leaders in Nigeria under the auspices of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) have joined the Governor of the country’s Kaduna State in calling on the Muhammadu Buhari-led government “to declare bandits as terrorists.”
Last week, Governor Nasir el-Rufai reportedly called on Nigeria’s Federal Government to shift from using the term “bandits” for those involved in attacks and use the term “terrorists” arguing that such a move “will allow the Nigerian military to attack … these bandits without any major consequences in international law.”
“Thank God Governor El-Rufai himself has called on the Federal Government to declare bandits as terrorists so that our security forces can kill them. This shows further that the era of denials and playing politics with insecurity is coming to an end,” an official of CAN has been quoted as saying in a Monday, October 25 news report.
In the report, the Vice President of CAN in 19 Northern States who doubles as the Chairman of the Kaduna State Chapter of the Christian forum, Rev. John Joseph Hayab further says, “Unless we maintain a firm position against those tormenting our citizens, these bandits will not let us have peace.”
The CAN official made reference to the attack on the rail track between Abuja and Kaduna that led to the suspension of train services between the two Nigerian towns posing, “Now that the bandits are destroying rail lines, what else have they not done to confirm they are terrorists and enemies of the state?”
