By Olayinka Latona

CATHOLIC Archbishop of Lagos, Archbishop Alfred Martins, on behalf of three million Catholics in Lagos, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to end continous killings and destruction of property in the country.

President Muhammadu Buhari addresses the guests during the Democracy Day Lecture held at the International Conference Centre in Abuja

The bishop who led the Lagos march protesting the killing of two priests and 17 parishioners at St. Ignatius Catholic Church, Benue State on April 24 by herdsmen said the Federal Government was not doing enough to arrest growing insecurity in the country.

In his words: “The president should act fast and restore the confidence of the people. He is the father of the nation and many people have accused him of being aware and in support of plans to Islamize Nigeria. Many see the killings and the apparent unwillingness to do anything about it as proof that the President is simply keeping quiet and working towards it.”

According to him, the time has come for President Buhari to act fast and put to rest all the insinuations being pandered all over about him, saying: “We reiterate that our call for your urgent intervention is borne out of our deep patriotism and desire to save the country from imminent crisis that could snowball into ethnic, tribal or religious war.

“Communities are being wiped away in manners that can only be likened to ethnic cleansing. Human life, a most sacred gift from God, has become of less value than that of cattle in this part of the world. This is unacceptable.

“May the Lord grant you the wherewithal to carry out your duties and bring peace, security and growth to the nation. The security agencies should be up and doing in their responsibilities and fish out the perpetrators of these callous killings in the country.

“We ought to have intelligence agencies that will prevent attacks and nip such attacks in the bud. This is the least we can expect from our Government, so that people can feel safe in every part of the country without the presence of gunmen.

“We are making this call with due sense of patriotism for our nation Nigeria, because we believe in the strength and unity of Nigeria, the government must therefore secure the lives and property of the citizens.”

Archbishop Martins hailed recent pledge by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo that the Federal Government would undertake the rebuilding of the places that were destroyed by the killer-herdsmen in Benue State and hopefully in other similar places.