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We Must Not Pass Crime to Future Generations: Christian Leaders in Nigeria’s Kaduna State

Kaduna State in northern Nigeria. Credit: CSW.

By Magdalene Kahiu

Kaduna, 14 March, 2022 / 11:25 am (ACI Africa).

Christian leaders in Nigeria’s Kaduna State are calling for a break in the cycle of banditry, murders and other forms of crime that have affected the State saying the vices should not be passed on to future generations. 

In a Wednesday, March 9 report, Christian leaders under the auspices of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) say many crimes in the State go unreported. 

"Our dear state has been on the news for the wrong reasons which include banditry, kidnapping, assaults on communities and killings of innocent citizens,” the Chairman of CAN in Kaduna State, an entity that includes representatives of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), has been quoted as saying.

In the report, Pastor John Joseph Hayab adds, “We cannot pass this type of record to the next generation when others are struggling to get out of poverty to become self-reliant."

“This evil must stop now,” the CAN official further says, adding that those keeping quiet about crimes in the West African nation “need to speak up forthwith."

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The appeal by CAN in Nigeria’s Kaduna State comes days after a Catholic Priest serving in the Catholic Archdiocese of Kaduna was kidnapped.

Fr. Joseph Akete was abducted together with his younger brother who had visited him. The Priest’s security guard lost his life in the incident that took place during the early hours of Tuesday, March 8. 

According to Kaduna State officials, a woman and her two children were also kidnapped alongside Fr. Aketeh.  

In September last year, the Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) described Kaduna State as Nigeria’s “epicenter of kidnapping and banditry activity” due to the heightened levels of insecurity.

According to the Christian organization that advocates for religious freedom across the globe, the Nigerian State continues to experience alarming levels of violence despite being the headquarters of 11 military installations.

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Statistics released by TheCable Index earlier this year indicated that Kaduna State was among Nigerian States with the highest number of reported deaths in 2021.

Earlier this week, the Local Ordinary of the Catholic Archdiocese of Kaduna said that insecurity in the West African country has made life unbearable for Nigerians.

Archbishop Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso called on Nigerians to use the Lenten Season to seek divine intervention to the challenge of insecurity in the country. 

Magdalene Kahiu

Magdalene Kahiu is a Kenyan journalist with passion in Church communication. She holds a Degree in Social Communications from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). Currently, she works as a journalist for ACI Africa.

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