The Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Diocese on the Niger, has appealed to the federal government to release Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in order to reduce tension in the South East.
The church also noted that the different shocking methods which terrorists have employed in fueling insecurity in Nigeria, is instructive enough to compel the Nigerian military to rejig their own strategy to contain them.
According to it, the current bizarre terrorists’ methods of operation particularly, the one they employed in the recent Kaduna train attack and the different ways they have adopted in launching sporadic attacks in almost every state of the federation, is an indictment to the aggregation of Nigerian security intelligence.
The Diocese position is contained in the Bishop’s Charge, delivered by the Bishop, Diocese on the Niger, Rt Rev. Owen Nwokolo, to the 1st Session of the 32nd Synod of the the Diocese held at All Saints Cathedral, Onitsha, Anambra State.
Bishop Nwokolo, while delivering the Bishop’s Charge, with the theme, “Go-Make Disciples of All Nations” however, commended the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government for his current mobilization of Nigerian security personnel in preventing terrorist invasion of the country, but noted that the efforts of the Federal Government in tackling insecurity in the country is not enough to overcome the insecurity challenge facing the country.
“The federal government should tactfully beef up the nations military strength by voting adequate budget and diligently appropriating same for quality military personnel and modern fighting hardwares, as Nigerians can no longer tolerate the ongoing senseless killings in the country.”
The Synod also decried the rising food insecurity caused by herdsmen and their cattle, noting that the degree of hunger, starvation, sickness and frequent death in the country is intolerable, adding that non-importation of food and farmers’ inability to go to their farms due to killer herdsmen attack, is putting the country in grave danger of food scarcity.
The Diocese on the Niger also expressed dissatisfaction over what it called “ever rising cost of petroleum products in Nigeria,” lamenting that the cost of petrol is rising astronomically, while that of cooking gas has gone beyond the reach of the common people, just as kerosene has risen to N700 per litre, making life more difficult for the lower class of the masses.