Owing to the incessant killing of innocent Nigerians and the recent murder of two Catholic priests and 15 parishioners during the celebration of the Holy Mass in Mbalom, Benue State, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBNC), yesterday, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to choose the part of honour and step aside as President to save the nation from collapsing.
In a statement jointly signed by CNBC President, Most Rev. Augustine Akubeze and the Secretary, Most Rev. Camillus Umoh, the Bishops said they received with deep shock, sorrow and utter horror, the gruesome, grisly and dastardly murder, adding that it is clear to the country that the President has failed in his primary duty of protecting the lives of the Nigerian citizens.
“Whether this failure is due to inability to perform or lack of political will, repeated calls from us and many other Nigerians on the President to take very drastic and urgent steps to reverse this ugly tragedy that threatens the foundation of our collective existence and unity as a nation have fallen on deaf ears.
“Now, our churches have been desecrated and our people murdered on the altar. But how can the Federal Government stand back, while its security agencies deliberately turn a blind eye to the cries and wails of helpless and armless citizens who remain sitting ducks in their homes, farms, highway and now, even in their sacred places of worship?
“We, the Catholic Bishops of Nigeria, are currently in Rome on official visit to the Holy Father and other agencies of administration of the church, as it is customary. Naturally, this matter will come up,” they said.
CBNC lamented that the country’s landscape was littered with the bodies of its own citizens, adding that the clock is ticking and the bomb must be defused quickly before it explodes.
It observed that for over two years now, the body, along with many other well-meaning Nigerians, has consistently asked the President to rethink the configuration of his security apparatus and strategy and had expressed their lack of confidence in the security agencies, which the President has deliberately placed in the hands of the adherents of only one religion.
The bishops argued that since the President who appointed the heads of the country’s security agencies has refused to call them to order, even in the face of the chaos and barbarity into which the country has been plunged, they were left with no choice but to conclude that they are acting a script that he approves of.
“If the President cannot keep our country safe, then he automatically loses the trust of the citizens,” they insisted.
The bishops called on all Nigerians to stand for their fundamental right to life and security and called on government to encourage and empower citizens to secure themselves and their environments, adding: “This is not the time to disarm people with legally procured weapons of self-defense. These are not normal times, since those we pay to protect us have failed to do their duty.
“Nigeria can return to normal times if we put our heads together with sincerity.”