Blasphemy Killing: Can Decries Release Of Suspects, Calls It Threat To National Security

Source: thewillnigeria.com

BEVERLY HILLS, November 07, (THEWILL) – The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, has expressed deep sadness by the reported release without trial of the five suspects accused of killing a 74-year-old Christian woman in Kano, Mrs Bridget Agbahime, who was gruesomely murdered sometime in June this year.

It stated that if there is any truth in the report as published by newspapers, the action of the authorities is a highly provocative and insulting act on the collective sensitivities of Nigerians as citizens of a democratic nation.

In a statement issued on Monday by its Director of Legal and Public Affairs, Evang. Barr. Kwamkur Samuel, CAN condemned the continued killing of innocent Nigerians under the pretence of blasphemy, stressing that the willful absence of justice for victims of the mindless killings is a very serious constitutional breach and security threat to the country.

The statement continued, “The now-familiar tradition of avoidance to arrest or properly investigate and prosecute cases involving the deliberate killing of innocent Nigerians is evidence of a scripted plan to operate another nation within the Nigerian state and to deny justice to those who truly deserve justice.

“The cardinal responsibility of Government to protect the lives and property of the citizens is sacrosanct and must not be sacrificed on the altar of religious convenience.

“As it stands today, there is no single prosecution record of any criminal who killed under the pretence of blasphemy in Nigeria despite the number of victims and incontrovertible facts showing that those killings were done in daylight and mostly by persons who live within the communities where these heinous crimes were committed.”

The Christian body called on the Kano State Government and the Inspector General of Police to execute justice on behalf of the blood calling out for it, warning that the act of condoning crass criminality in the name of blasphemy deserves greater attention and broader treatment.

CAN however sympathized with the family of the Kano victim and assured that the pursuit of justice is a noble task of all well-meaning citizens working together toward a more decent and better society.

“As the umbrella body of Christians in Nigeria, we will not relent in our effort to ensure that justice is served on the religiously intolerant and to ensure that all Nigerians are treated equally irrespective of their faith, social status and where they come from,” the statement added.