The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Kaduna State on Wednesday
debunked widely circulated reports that some Muslims protected
Christians during Christmas service in Kaduna town.
Reverend Sunday Ibrahim, the secretary of the Kaduna State
chapter of CAN, made the refutation in a statement he released at a
press briefing.
Mr. Ibrahim stated that it had
nothing against genuine peace advocates, but added that it opposed the
spreading of falsehood. The Christian organization declared that there
was no single church in Kaduna that faced any attack that warranted
protection. It also disclosed that the usual security agents were
drafted to secure Christian worshippers on Christmas day.
“It has become imperative for us
to clarify this falsehood and confusion in local and international
media,” said the CAN spokesman. “Many of our members have been calling
and asking questions whether a Church was protected from being attacked
by Muslims in [the] Sabo area on Christmas day? And we said it is not
true, and we don’t want people to create panic and dishing out [an]
inciting story,” the statement continued.
According to the CAN official,
“there was no attempted attack on any Church in Kaduna town on Christmas
day that [warranted] some Muslims coming to protect the Church from
attackers.”
Mr. Ibrahim emphasized that there
was “no record of any Church in Sabon Tasha, Barnawa and environs out
of the over 400 Churches that was protected by Muslims. Sabon Tasha is a
100 percent Christian-dominated area, and how will Muslims come from
Rigasa and Tudun Wada to protect a Church in Sabon Tasha?”
He added: “We are not against any
peace initiative as we are working with Jama’atu Nasril Islam for
peace.
However we are not aware of this fabricated story from any
Church, security agencies, military, police and the SSS capable of
creating confusion.
He explained that some Muslims
visited a Christian pastor on Christmas day to celebrate Christmas with
him, but not to protect a Church as was widely reported. He urged the
media to verify their facts before publishing, assuring Christians that
no single Church was threatened on Christmas day.
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