By Olayinka Latona

The President of Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Rev. Samson Ayokunle, has described the killings in Southern Kaduna as “religious cleansing.”

New CAN President, Rev Ayokunle

Consequently, he called  on President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State to put more efforts into securing lives and properties in the northern part of the country, especially in Kaduna.

Ayokunle also called on Nigerians to shun ethnicity, tribalism and embrace love, assuring that there is hope for the nation’s economy, adding that the present economic challenges will soon be a thing of the past.

Speaking during the 50th year anniversary of The Ajayi Dahunsi Memorial Baptist Church, Lagos, Ayokunle expressed concern over the recent killing of 102 villagers at Godogodo and Gidan Waya communities in Jema’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State by herdsmen, saying such killings amounted to ethnic and religious cleansing.

In his words: “Continuous killing in Southern Kaduna calls for serious concern. Three villages have been displaced by the herdsmen. We see that as religious cleansing because the people of Godogodo and Gidan Waya are predominantly Christians, while the herdsmen are predominately Muslims.

“The most disturbing thing is that these herdsmen are carrying guns and nobody is arresting them. We learned that these herdsmen are now living in these communities.

“We have governments. They should, please, rise up and address these issues of killing; not just going on air to say everything is in order, when they are not.”