The 19 Northern states chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has said that Boko Haram insurgents beheaded the Adamawa State chairman of the association, Reverend Lawan Andimi because the clergy refused to be converted to Islam, while blaming the Federal Government for the dangerous dimension of the nation’s security challenges.

According to the Northern CAN, with the killing of Reverend Andimi by the insurgents, it has become apparent that the statement made by government that it had degraded the capability of the insurgents is false.

The Vice Chairman of Northern CAN, Reverend Joseph Hayab who reacted on Saturday to the gruesome killing of Andimi by Boko Haram, said that Boko Haram has resorted “to a more vicious act now; they took the CAN Chairman away and they forced him in a video to make comments, making him believe he would be released.”

“In the video he made some comments as if they were taking good care of him. Then, they now went into negotiation to the tune of €2m. But, the Church has got no such money to pay. One thing that has not been told to the public is that Boko Haram insurgents made attempt to convert him to Islam and he refused to be converted.”

“And so, they decided that they were going to kill him. Because they felt that releasing this kind of person, he will be very dangerous to Islam. That is what they said and I am using their words. You see, people have not heard, but that is exactly what they said. They now called the person who has been negotiating with them and said that in two days they will send him a picture and show him what they have done to him. And that they no longer need their money.”

Hayab explained that: “In fact, one of the members spoke with the leader of the Church and told him that he knew him when they were small and that he is now with the Boko Haram.” Reverend Hayab, who is also the Chairman of Kaduna Chapter of CAN argued, “you can now see that all what the government has been saying that Boko Haram had been defeated is not true. Today they continue to deploy mayhem on Christians all over.”He called on all Nigerians to join hands to fight the menace posed by Boko Haram and other insurgents in Nigeria, stressing that “because tomorrow we don’t know who is next.”

Hayab also called on those in the seat of power to be more proactive in fighting Boko Haram insurgency and the terror by armed bandits in many states, saying “enough is enough in playing politics with security challenges in Nigeria.”“The armed Bandits have also had their field day kidnapping Christians in the North. All we are saying is that our cry should be taken seriously and we are appealing to them that they should take the issue of securing us Nigerians seriously. Our cry is that we are losing our loved ones and bread winners of families, our cry is that insecurity in forms of kidnapping, killings is being used to impoverish Christians, we must find solution to the problem.”

Hayab noted that in the past, efforts made by patriotic Nigerians to cry out against the government’s inability and failure to handle the nation’s security challenges have been visited with blackmail by those in power, saying that “some of us will continue to speak to those in authority about the evil in our land.” (The Guardian)

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