Christians
Jihadists kill all male Christians in two Nigerien towns, women flee
Jihadists in Niger Republic have killed all the male Christians in Fantio and Dolbel, two towns in the Tillabéri region in the south west. Survivors of the attack, a group of women, with small children and babies fled to the Dori region of Burkina Faso. AID TO THE CHURCH IN NEED (ACN), which reported the attacks, quoted the women as saying the terrorists attacked the towns twice, killing the men. The two towns were abandoned by the rest of the inhabitants. In Fantio, the jihadists took a statue of the Virgin Mary, liturgical books and musical instruments and burned them. They then desecrated the Blessed Sacrament by throwing the sacred hosts on the ground and finally setting the church on fire. This is the third parish in this part of Niger that has been abandoned due to terrorist attacks ...
Man arrested for ‘beheading’ woman in Calabar
A young man identified as Christian Edem Eyo in Mbukpa, Calabar South, is reported to have beheaded one of his aunts, identified as Mrs Uduak. Checks indicated that the incident occurred in the early hours of Wednesday when the deceased, who was a neighbour to Christain, left her apartment to take her bath outside. Apparently not aware that she was being watched, as she approached the make-shift bathroom outside, Christain accosted her and hacked her down with a big stick and later cut off her head. According to other neighbours, the incident happened at about 5:00 am when Mrs Uduak left her apartment. A witness identified as Grace, who is a worshipper at an adjoining church which was having an all-night prayer service, said that she observed the young man burying a headless body. Grace sa...
NPC: Census will not consider religion, ethnicity
The National Population Commission says the population census will not take into consideration the number of adherents of any religion or the number of members of ethnic groups. It, therefore, denied including a religious category in the questionnaires being distributed in the first pre-test exercise for the next population and housing census in the country. The Director, Public Affairs of the NPC, Udi Joseph, said this in a statement on Wednesday while reacting to viral Whatsapp messages claiming the NPC had made two separate categories for Muslims and one category for Christians in its questionnaire. In a statement titled, ‘NPC Refutes Fake News on Religion in Census Questionnaires’, the organisation said even in previous population census exercises, religion and ethnicity were not consi...
Sultan: What Nigeria needs now is excellent leadership
The Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar, says what the country needs at this time is excellent and purposeful leadership. Abubakar said this during the inauguration of an ultramodern camp for Muslim and Christians pilgrims in Bauchi state. He called on leaders to strive to ensure that they fulfill the purpose for which they were elected to their various positions. “Leaders should always strive to do what the people want, because it is the main reason they were voted into power by the people. “What the country needs now is excellent and purposeful leadership. Leadership has been bestowed on us by Allah. We should know that one day, we will all give account of our stewardship in the hereafter. “It is incumbent on us as leaders to discharge our responsibilities to the best of our ability. The fo...
CAN: We never approached National Assembly on CAMA
File Photo Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has clarified its position on the controversial Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), disclosing that it has not approached the current National Assembly for any amendment on the Act. CAN General Secretary, Joseph Daramola, in a statement explained that the response was to contradict media reports quoting CAN President, Dr. Samson Ayokunle, as accusing the National Assembly of not assisting the Association when CAMA was being amended. Part of statement noted, “we want to make it abundantly clear that CAN President was not referring to the current National Assembly, because CAN never approached the federal lawmakers on the controversial law. “CAMA is not a product of the 9th Assembly but the previous Assembly (8th Assembly). It’s our expe...
Anglican archbishop calls for national dialogue
An Anglican Archbishop, Isaac Nwaobia, has urged the federal government to convene a national dialogue to address issues of insecurity in the country Mr Nwobia, who is the Archbishop/Bishop of Diocese of Isiala Ngwa South (Aba Province), made the call during the 4th Synod of the diocese at St. Peter’s Cathedral Owerrinta, Abia State on Thursday. The archbishop, while speaking with reporters during the opening session of the Synod, said that national dialogue was important, as the communication gap could be responsible for some of the present security challenges in Nigeria. “The president should summon us, either as a meeting or a confab, so that people can say why they are annoyed. “The solution should be that we need to sit down, dialogue and sort things out,” he said. The cleric condemne...
Akwa Ibom governor’s wife decries rising cases of rape, child trafficking
Mrs Martha Emmanuel, the wife of Gov. Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom, on Friday decried the rising cases of rape, child trafficking and baby factories in the state. Emmanuel spoke at the monthly women prayer summit held in Uyo on Friday. She said that despite her modest efforts to stem the tide, some bad elements were hell-bent on perpetrating heinous crimes in the state. She urged mothers to be watchful of their children as reports of rape, child pornography, trafficking and baby factories were on the increase in the state. Emmanuel reiterated her commitment to halt the vices in the state and encouraged mothers to do their part by not abdicating their roles as caregivers. Newsmen report that the theme of the prayer summit was, “Taking over Territories.” “I encourage women to rise and take dom...
Presidency: Benue governor politicising insecurity
The presidency has said President Muhammadu Buhari expressed his condolences to the families of citizens who lost their loved ones in the recent spate of killings in Benue State. Also, presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, in a statement on Thursday night, said the president stated that the rising level of incidents, especially the killings and violence in various parts of the country calls for further collaboration with security agencies to curb its recurrence. He also stated his disappointment and sadness to hear the governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom’s litany of accusations against his person and his government, following the recent unfortunate incidents in the state. Shehu said no responsible government takes pleasure in such events as the killing of the military and that of innocent...
Delta governor: We inherited N100 billion unpaid pension under compulsory pension scheme
Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta on Sunday said his administration inherited about N100 billion unpaid pensions under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS). Okowa disclosed this at the third session of the 8th Synod of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Ughelli Diocese. The session was held at Bishop Agori-Iwe Memorial Church, Ughelli. Okowa said that the financial burden forced 18 state governments out of 26 that enlisted on the scheme to withdraw, leaving only eight state governments, including Delta, in the Programme. The governor explained that the major challenge which forced the states to withdraw and others not to enrol in the scheme, was the huge backlog running into billions of naira. He said that his administration was up-to-date with payment of pensioners in the old scheme. ...
Ramadan: Israel, Palestinians clash on Gaza border as Jerusalem violence continues
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired dozens of rockets into Israel on Saturday drawing retaliatory air strikes, the Israeli military said, after nightly Ramadan clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police had resumed in Jerusalem. The pre-dawn exchange of fire broke months of relative quiet on the Israel-Gaza frontier, though it did not appear to signal a wider escalation after the military said it was not imposing any safety restrictions on Israelis living near the border. In Jerusalem, Israeli-Palestinian tension has been higher than usual during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Protests turned violent on Thursday with scores of arrests and injuries. The unrest resumed on Friday night, when Palestinian youths gathered outside the walled Old City and scuffled with hundreds o...
ECWA: Terrorists tactically taking over Northern Nigeria
The Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) has raised the alarm, saying terrorist groups are tactically expanding their activities and making incursions into other parts of the North. Addressing a press conference in Jos on Wednesday on the insecurity ravaging the country, ECWA President, Dr. Stephen Panya, said “Boko Haram and ISWAP have destroyed tens of thousands of lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of Nigerians and many Christians and Christian communities have been deliberately targeted and destroyed. “It is clear that these terrorist groups are gradually but tactically expanding their activities and making incursions into other parts of the north and even beyond, and the apparent lack of unity in the fight against these terrorist groups, and the inability of government to deal...
CAN: Isa Pantami serving President Buhari’s interest
File Photo The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, says President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Isa Pantami as Nigeria’s communications minister to serve a predetermined purpose, noting the government will not cast him away no matter how loud the call for his removal becomes. CAN’s position was relayed by its General Secretary Joseph Daramola in an interview with Punch. The comments come less than 24 hours after the presidency defended Mr Pantami of his alleged support for terrorist groups. Mr Daramola said the Christian body is not surprised that the presidency swiftly came out to exonerate Pantami, saying those who tapped him for the job were quite aware of his antecedents and must have given him specific instructions to carry out in government. “Government studies the characters they pu...