HURIWA tells DSS to leave opposition, probe el-Rufai
Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Ignatius Kaigama, has said that the ongoing killings in the southern part of Kaduna State and other parts of the country can better be resolved through dialogue than military option.
He, therefore, called on government to provide immediate and lasting security solutions to end the various crises and security breaches in parts of the country.
In his homily during the ordination of new Catholic priests at Our Lady Queen of Nigeria Pro-Cathedral, Abuja, Kaigama solicited prayers for families and individuals who lost their loved ones in the attacks in southern Kaduna and other areas.
He said: “We have had enough of these killings. We implore the maternal intercession of our Lady assumed body and soul into heaven, that through her intercession, we may overcome the coronavirus disease, as well as have security and lasting peace in our country.”
Kaigama urged the priests to be instruments of peace and forgiveness, and to shepherd the flock of God entrusted to them without looking for reward.
“By accepting ordination, they have opted to be very close friends of Jesus and to make more friends for him,” he added.
IN a related development, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has told the Department of State Services (DSS) to stop harassing persons seen as political opponents of government, but fish out the armed Fulani herdsmen killing people in Kaduna.
The rights group urged the DSS to look no further for the solution to the unrelenting killings in Kaduna, but compel Governor Nasir el-Rufai to produce the killers of innocent Nigerians in state, since he had been able to identify them and their locations.
In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, and the National Media Affairs Director, Zainab Yusuf, the group argued that failure to compel the governor to produce the herders, who purportedly collected money from his government, was an indication of the insincerity of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
It asserted: “It is a show of double standard on the part of the DSS to be dishing out unsubstantiated propaganda against certain persons seen as political opponents of the political party controlling the presidency at the moment while allowing el-Rufai to move about scot-free. The fact that el-Rufai has immunity does not preclude him from investigation.
“It is regrettable that those behind the heinous crimes are known to the governor, yet no one has been charged for murder. Instead, people like Dr. Obadiah Mailafiya, who speak out, are being persecuted.
“The Buhari government must not give the impression of partiality or suggest that Christians are the target of this administration.”
Condemning the call for the execution of Zamani Lekwot by some religious fundamentalists in the North, it said the most pragmatic way to stop the Kaduna killings was to fish out the armed herders through the Kaduna governor.
Follow our socials Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Google News.
