CAN declares January 31st and February 2nd days for special fasting and prayers over killings

The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, has declared January 31st and February 2nd as national days of prayer and fasting for Christians in Nigeria.

Addressing newsmen in Abuja, CAN chairman Samson Ayokunle advised that the days should be used to pray for the incessant killings of Christians in Nigeria to stop.

This is coming in the wake of the Boko Haram execution of CAN Adamawa State chairman, Lawan Andimi.

Announcing the days of prayer and fasting, Ayokunle said:

"The CAN leadership has declared Friday, January 31 to February 2, 2020 as days for special fasting and prayer for Nigeria in all churches, home and abroad, for the gruesome killing of innocent Nigerians to stop and for our government to develop the capacity to overcome the criminals troubling the nation.

"Sunday, February 2, 2020, is declared a special prayer walk by Christians in all the states of the federation in the form of a procession to be led by states CAN chairmen at CAN secretariats and pastors of churches in all churches in Nigeria.

"Churches should process round their area, pray for God’s permanent intervention and help from all over the world so that all of us might not be consumed one by one.

"It appears our government is completely overwhelmed. The brutality of Nigerians is happening unabated daily.

"All bloc leaders, zonal and states chairmen, leaders of denominations and all Christians and concerned Nigerians should support and come out en-mass for the programme.

"The church is matching on and the gate of hell shall not prevail against it!" Ayokunle said.

CAN also urged the Federal Government to suspend the release of rehabilitated Boko Haram members.

"The Federal Government should publish names of all kingpins of the terrorists who are in detention and those who are being prosecuted. The Federal Government should stop releasing the so-called repented terrorists since they are reportedly joining their colleagues in the forest to unleash terror on the land.

The Federal Government should reverse the recent controversial police promotion with a view to balancing religious and ethnic divides in the country. The Federal Government should stop sending delegations to all Islamic international organisations and let our Muslim counterparts be doing so as we are doing in all international Christian religious organisations. The Federal Government should stop discriminating against our female youth corps members who refuse to wear the NYSC trousers for religious reasons since they allow their Muslim counterparts to wear hijab.

The victims of the consistent attacks should be assessed and adequately compensated. The victims in various IDPs be provided with adequate security and enough resources for continual survival. It is painful and a betrayal to note that the government gives more attention to so-called repentant terrorists than the victims of their evil with the claim that they are being reinstated and rehabilitated, even into the Nigerian Army. This is a major contradiction." he said.