Catholic Bishops reject Southern Kaduna killings

Nigerian Catholic Bishops

Arch Bishop Ignatius Kaigama, the President, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), said that the evolving culture of brutality and wanton destruction to human lives in the country had become alarming and unparalleled in the history of the nation.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday, Kaigama called on Nigerians to have a rethink with regards to wastage of human lives.

Kaigama said that taking human lives just because it suited ones religious, ethnic, political or even criminal aspirations was unjustifiable and should not be the practice in a civilised world.

According to him, human lives are dignified and sacred and should not be sacrificed as if they are mere animal lives for pleasure or celebration.

“How can human lives be so casually terminated with pictures of dead bodies, decapitated or disfigured corpses shown in the social media.

“What is mind-boggling is the seeming insensitivity to the killings. Does it not trouble us that the international community is watching Nigeria with great apprehension.

“The scriptures say that God created man and woman and asked them to increase and multiply and fill the earth, not to depopulate it by act of violence.

“The manner lives are being taken right now in Southern Kaduna and many other troubled areas of our nation is tantamount to a declaration of war against helpless and innocent Nigerians.”

He noted that people had rough and tough times when innocent Nigerians lost their lives as it was experienced in Agatu, Madagali, Gwoza, Yobe, Plateau, Taraba, Nasarawa, Anambra, Abia and now Southern Kaduna.

Kaigama said these impacted negatively on the younger generation growing with the impression that life was cheap and could be taken away at the whims of anyone or any group that so desired.

“For how long will killings, associated with demented or irrational reasoning continue to be witnessed, especially in Southern Kaduna before a concerted effort is made to stop such carnage permanently.

“When will one Nigerian life matter or must people be killed in thousands or millions before we realise the humongous damage done to our people.

“We are becoming so sadistic that we do not see that such brutality creates a culture of impunity, chaos, anarchy and doom; as if the needless killing by Boko Haram is not enough.

“A culture is developing that does not seem to know the difference between the lives of human beings and that of cows, goats, rams, chickens.’’

The clergyman commended the security agents and urged them not to see the weapons they were using as licence to molest those they were supposed to protect.

He urged the Federal Government not to procrastinate in proffering well-thought out responses to act of savagery in the country.