Jos bombing : FG ignored our warning, says CAN

Posted by admin Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Latest Politics Wednesday, December 29th, 2010

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), in the 19 northern states and Abuja has said the Federal Government was forewarned about possible continuous eruption of violence in Jos, the Plateau State capital.
It, however, regretted that the warning was ignored.

According to C A N, the warning emanated from its belief that there were terrorists activities going on in Plateau State over the years, stressing that if the Federal Government had taken the warning seriously, the recent bomb blasts in Jos, which killed several people would have been averted.

In a press statement made available to Daily Sun by the Secretary of the association, Elder Saidu Dogo, it expressed sadness over the blasts that occurred on the eve of Christmas as well as the killings in Borno State last weekend.

“Over the years, we have raised alarm and equally warned on the activities of terrorists in this part of the country but successive Nigerian governments have either ignored or trivialized such warnings. “As a result, we are today confronted with a monster of destruction that is threatening the very foundation of our corporate existence as a nation. The Federal Government and indeed its security agencies cannot claim ignorance of the existence of training camps of terrorism fundamentalists in the North.

“We are disturbed that the Jos bombings and the killings in Borno State came at a time when the Christian community all over the world was celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. We are further disturbed that terrorist attacks in the northern parts of Nigeria have become a recurring decimal. “We condemn in totality these dastardly acts of taking innocent lives at will by those who believe that others must die so that they can live. We enjoin all wellmeaning Nigerians to rise up to the occasion and condemn these acts of evil men.

“The recent discovery and seizure of large quantities of ammunition imported into this country by some Iranians and their northern Nigerian collaborators is a pointer to the fact that we are not safe in this country, hence, the general apprehension,” the statement said. The northern Christian body therefore called on the Federal Government to immediately beef up security operations in Jos to forestall further loss of lives and property, as well as implement previous recommendations of the various committees it had set up to bring to book all those who had been found to be involved in the dastardly acts.

“The war against terrorism should be faced with all manner of seriousness, so we are calling on the Federal Government to demonstrate enough political will to stem the tide of terrorist activities in northern Nigeria,” it added.
Meanwhile, the British High Commissioner, Bob Dewar has condemned the violence in Jos and Maiduguri over the Christmas period and expressed deepest condolences to the families of all the innocent people who died or were injured.

In a terse statement in Abuja, yesterday, signed by Hooman Nouruzi, Press Secretary to the British High Commission, the High Commissioner regretted the crises and urged the Nigerian government to tighten up security in the country to avoid such occurrence in the future.

“It was important that security and calm be restored and maintained for the benefit of all citizens and that the perpetrators of the acts of violence as well as those responsible should be investigated and brought to justice”, he stated.wp_posts