CAN says FG twisted facts of killings in Southern Kaduna

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Kaduna State chapter, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government to take proactive steps towards finding a lasting solution to the incessant killings in Southern Kaduna.
The association expressed concern that the federal government instead of stepping in to find a lasting solution to the killings, maiming, kidnapping the people and the destruction of their properties, has resorted to twisting the truths.
The Presidency, in a statement by Garba Shehu, the President’s Spokesman said the problem of insecurity in Southern Kaduna is more complicated than many people are willing to admit.
The statement added that the problem in Southern Kaduna is an evil combination of politically-motivated banditry, revenge killings and mutual violence by criminal gangs acting on ethnic and religious grounds.
Reacting to this, the state CAN chairman, Rev. John Joseph Hayab, in a statement issued on Wednesday said, “As if the above misconception is not enough, Shehu Garba further misinforms Nigerians and the international community that Southern Kaduna enjoys comprehensive security deployments, including the Army, Special Forces of both the Army and the Air Force, surveillance aircraft by the Air Force and mobile police units that are on the ground on a 24-hour basis to forestall criminality and keep the peace.”
CAN asks, “Were it to be true that the southern part of Kaduna enjoys security surveillance as claimed as by Mallam Garba Shehu, where were the security personnel when people were attacked in Atyap and Chawai Chiefdoms during the state’s imposed curfew and the fresh attacks at Kukum Daji in Kagoro Chiefdom as well as at Gora Gan in Atyap Chiefdom?”
CAN Kaduna State Chapter, said as a body, it finds the statement by Shehu Garba unwarranted and views it as a misdirected attempt towards giving a dog a bad name to hang it.
It said the position of CAN is that the killings of innocent lives, maiming and destruction of lives and property across the nation, particularly the fresh attacks in the southern part of Kaduna State, have reached an extraordinary height and are a matter of grave concern, hence, require that the federal government takes a proactive approach instead of taking sides.
CAN said it is worried that instead of the federal and Kaduna State governments to do everything in their power to address the evil, she is busy twisting facts to achieve what only God knows which will only make the situation worst.
CAN called on the government to apply the principle of justice for all in addressing the present killings and other conflicts bedevilling our country. “This principle will ensure that all citizens are treated equally. The government should not expect CAN to be silent, and watch more lives wasted by some militia groups,” the statement added.
The statement advised the government not to attempt to twist the facts to make a serious matter look like a drama, stressing that the government’s attitude simply assists criminals killing innocent citizens to be viewed as the victims.
CAN lamented that the government has not done enough to stop the never-ending attacks nor has it demonstrated guaranteeing steps to arrest the aggressors, adding, “Besides, the government’s posture, evidenced in Shehu Garba’s 21st July 2020 release, is an indictment on the government at all levels, considering that its fundamental duty is the protection of the lives and property of all citizenry and not only a section.”
CAN called on the government to stop taking sides and act promptly in apprehending what it called “marauders of death” before helpless communities are exterminated, pointing out that it is even more painful to note that a record of the recent deaths are the youths, the leaders of our collective future, demonstrating that Nigeria’s future is bleak.