Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Dr. Alfred Adewale Martins, has warned that killings in Kaduna State and that member of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, also known as Shi’ites, is a ticking time bomb.
Also, Chairman of Christian Association Of Nigeria (CAN), Northern Nigeria Chapter, Rev. Yakubu Pam said over 1,000 people perished in the clashes between farmers and herdsmen in the middle belt in the first three months in 2018.
He said that those who were killed were mostly women and children in Benue and Plateau States.
Dr. Matins, therefore, made a passionate appeal to the Federal Government, to urgently address the lingering crises in Kaduna, which have led to the loss of several lives and also, work to halt any further killing of Shi’ites in the country.
Archbishop Martins said the two recent incidents have once, again, shown clearly, the need for those constitutionally empowered with the task of safeguarding lives and properties of Nigerians to seriously re-evaluate the various security challenges facing the country and nip them in the bud before they escalate beyond manageable proportions.
“The Boko Haram saga is a case in point in which early, careful handling may have had a different outcome.”
Reacting to the outbreak of violence in Southern Kaduna, where over 75 people died and many more suffer several degrees of injuries, archbishop Martins, although expressed his deep condolences to families of those who lost their lives in the fracas, challenged Governor Nasir El-Rufai to end incessant chaos and orgy of violence in the state.
The prelate also called on the Nigeria Police Force, the military and other law enforcement agencies in the state to work together and use all the resources at their disposal to get to the root cause of the fracas and bring the culprits to book.
“I was saddened to read the news of the recent crisis in Kaduna State which led to the loss of several lives. I felt very pained that, in this age and time, when all Nigerians should be living together as brothers and sisters, some still fan embers of religion and ethnicity; just to cause disaffection and score cheap political points.
“This is unacceptable and should be condemned in the strongest terms. We must find a lasting solution to this lingering crises or else, someday, it may consume the entire nation,” he said.
On the confrontation between the military and Shi’ites in Abuja, which also led to the killing of several of the protesters, the prelate called for caution on both sides.
He appealed to the military high command to also, as a matter of urgency, re-evaluate its mode of addressing similar incidences in order to curtail human fatality.
“Human life is invaluable. I believe there should be other milder ways of dispersing such religious procession without resorting to the use of the gun. Once a life is lost, it cannot be brought back.
“Remember, this is not the first time such incident will be happening between the military and Shi’ites.
“In view of the need for lasting peace, I think the government should engage leaders of the Shi’ites group in meaningful dialogue so as to resolve all issues bordering on the continuous detention of Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky; taking into cognizance all subsisting court judgments on the matter.
“We must not allow this to linger longer than necessary, to avoid a repeat of the mistakes that led to the proliferation of Boko Haram in the first instance,” Adewale said.
