Killing of Christians In Nigeria: Human Rights group drags Buhari, El-rufai to US, Pope

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, said it has resolved to petition the head of the Catholic Church in the Vatican and the President of the United States of America on the spate of what it called well coordinated armed invasions of churches and Christian dormitories by suspected armed Islamists and bandits that have made Kaduna state the epicenter of these extensively coordinated attacks against Christians.

HURIWA has urged the two global leaders to compel President Muhammadu Buhari and governor Malam Nassir El’ Rufai of Kaduna state, to stop the siege and systematic genocidal killings of Christians in the Christian dominated heartland of Southern Kaduna.

The letter follows a recent attack on seminarians’ living quarters in the state and alleged silence by security forces in investigating and retrieving stolen items.

The groups National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, and the National Media Affairs Director, Miss Zainab Yusuf, said it has decided to call the attention of Pope Francis and President Donald Trump on the spate of well coordinated armed invasions of Churches and Christian dominated areas of Southern Kaduna their genocide theater that resulted in the loss of unimaginable number of innocent souls and property.

The rights group said it has told the world leaders that both the Presidency and the Kaduna state political authorities are treating with levity the grave threats of extinctions and genocide that Christians are subjected to in Kaduna state.

The group explained that the gross disrespect for Federal Character principle in the state which culminated in the emergence of an all Moslem Governor, deputy Governor and State House of Assembly Speaker and deputy thereby consigning millions of Christians to the inglorious position of second class citizens is the canon fodder for the spiraling armed attacks by armed Islamists masquerading as herdsmen, kidnappers and bandits who have in the past one year or more specifically targeted Christian communities and schools in the state.

HURIWA explained, “On the last count virtually all major Christian denominations in Kaduna state have witnessed dozens of attacks just as dozens of Pastors have died in the cause of these targeted armed invasions and kidnapping. We are not accusing the Kaduna state government of involvement but we are worried about the conspiratorial silence to these series of attacks.

“We have consistently asked the politicians of Kaduna state to respect section 14(3) of the constitution which obliges the appointments of all ethno religious community members into strategic offices but in 2019 election, the governor made sure only Muslims are railroaded into the offices of governor, deputy and even the office of Speaker of the State House of Assembly is occupied by a Muslims.

“This is the fuel that has ignited widespread mistreatment of Christians. The incessant attacks by armed Islamists targeting only Pastors, Christian schools and clerics of Christian denomination have become a national emergency.

“Since Nigerian state and the Kaduna state government are not treating these threats as a national emergency, we have decided to let the world know the true state of things and we are happy that some organisations have made similar findings.

“Sadly, the Kaduna state government and the office of the Nigerian President are deeply entrenched in the selective appointments of mostly Moslems as holders of virtually all strategic positions thus neglecting the other key constituents who are Christians and atheists including worshippers of African traditional religion.

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“The recent kidnapping of senior seminarians of the Catholic Church in Kaduna state is one of such widespread well coordinated attacks.

“The four seminarians, between the ages of 18 and 23, were abducted Wednesday night recently from their seminary in Kaduna, in northwestern Nigeria.

“Pius Kanwai, 19; Peter Umenukor, 23; Stephen Amos, 23; and Michael Nnadi, 18, were taken from Good Shepherd Seminary in Kaduna, around 10:30 pm on January 8 by gunmen. Police are searching for the four young men”.

HURIWA lamented that since the gunmen, disguised in military camouflage, broke through the fence surrounding the seminarians’ living quarters and began shooting sporadically, they stole laptops and phones before kidnapping the four young men, the nation’s heads of security forces have yet to make concerted efforts to retrieve these Senior Seminarians from their kidnappers who are armed Islamists.