Christian leaders said that the Fulani herdsmen as new forces of Jihad committed to the “islamisation” of Nigeria, while accusing the intelligence services of being used to promote Islamic ideology by making themselves tools for subverting and intimidating Nigerians.
They therefore called on the Federal Government to checkmate activities of the herdsmen and overhaul the security apparatus of the country.
“the nation is in a state of emergency and the Federal Government should declare it thus, if indeed, the security of Nigerians is of paramount importance to this administration,” they said in a statement by a member of the National Christian Elders Forum, Moses Ihonde.
According to the elders, the overhauling of the intelligence service is overdue so that it fulfill the mandate of protecting people, instead of promoting a religious ideology.
Ihonde said the security agencies should have a national outlook, instead of building on its perception as a northern institution for the promotion of Islam.
His solutions for the the lingering security crisis in the country are convoking a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the implementation of the 2014 National Conference to foster restructuring of the polity and restoration of true federalism.
For him, the attack on the Nimbo community in Enugu State by the herdsmen was pure act of genocide.
He called on the Federal Government to take urgent steps to the jihadists who are bent on spreadingtheir tentacles of terror and destruction to all parts of Nigeria in their bid to enthrone a Sharia state.
“We condemn in all totality all these unwarranted attacks targeted primarily at Christians and Christian communities by the forces of Jihad seeking to redefine Nigeria from a democratic nation into an Islamic theocratic nation,” Ihonde said.
He cited the case of a prominent Christian leader, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, narrowly escaped death along Benin-Ekpoma Road, Edo State when his vehicle was shot at, as an indication of the high level such attacks have attained..
He rebuked 19 Northern governors for their indiscretion in protesting the labeling of the herdsmen as Fulani, despite their penchant for killings, rape, destruction of farmlands and invasion of Christian communities.
He wondered why Middle Belt governors should be party to such protestation, when their states have borne the brunt of the attacks.
“International observers have noted that the fourth most dangerous terror organisations in the world is the Fulani herdsmen. We consider this assertion by the northern governors as cruel, inhuman, and insensitive. Governor Shettima should immediately apologise to the nation,”Ihonde said.
