CAN plans nationwide protest for July 11 over killings

Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN,  yesterday announced a nationwide protest slated for July 11, to protest the unending killings across the country. It called on all peace-loving Nigerians with value and sanctity for human life to join the protest.


CAN President, Rev. Samson Ayokunle, in a statement by his Media Aide, Bayo Oladeji, said the planned protest aimed at  impressing on the government the need to stop the unprecedented killings.

He said the nationwide protest became necessary owing the failure of the country’s security agencies to stem the negative tide of mass killings sweeping the nation.

Ayokunle declared also that a three-day nationwide fasting and prayer exercise, scheduled for  9 – 11 July, would precede the planned protest.

He said: “We call on all Christians in the country and in the Diaspora to participate in the three-day prayer and fasting programme for God to end all the senseless, unwarranted, and selected killings in the country.”

If the government has failed us, we are very sure that Our God will never fail. All National Executive Committee’s members of CAN, the Church and Denominational leaders have been invited to participate in a peaceful protest to both the National Assembly and the State House to impress on the government to see the need to effectively stop the unprecedented killings.

“CAN has also directed its leadership at the state and local government levels to organise the same Peaceful Protest March to the Government House and the Local government headquarters respectively on  11 July. We are to tell the government; ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. We appeal to our members to be law-abiding before, during and after the protest.”

Meantime, CAN has described the statement attributed to Presidency that it was better for citizens to give land for cattle colonies than be killed in the recurrent herders/farmers clashes as reprehensible.

It called on all well-meaning Nigeria to rise up and speak against such a position, saying “Those who use violence to take away what belongs to others are unfit to be called humans.

“It is worrisome that we have a government that has come out clearly to state that people under the threat of herdsmen’s killings must surrender their lands for ranching or continue to be killed.”