CAN cautions presidency, security agents against threats to democracy

Apostolic Faith Church laments state of nation, insists Nigerians are suffering
Worried by current developments in the nation’s political space, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has cautioned the presidency and the Police against doing anything that could threaten the country’s democracy.

It gave the charge following Police invasion of the official residences of Senate President, Bukola Saraki and Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, in Abuja yesterday.

CAN President, Reverend Samson Ayokunle, advised the presidency to desist from using the Nigeria Police to pull down democratic institutions built with great sacrifice, which included loss of lives and imprisonment of several patriotic Nigerians in the past.

Ayokunle, who cautioned the Police against being used to threaten the nation’s democracy said: “CAN needs to remind the Nigeria Police that once a suspect has been invited, the best international practice is to exercise patience until the invitee fails to honour their invitation.

“We are shocked, disappointed and alarmed at the aborted moves by the Police to stop Saraki and Ekwerenmadu from attending Tuesday’s plenary for whatever reasons.”

He also urged the presidency to avoid any actions that could threaten democracy, adding that the Nigeria Police were supposed to be neutral to ensure the survival of democracy.

“We express concerns over the poor handling of police invitation to Saraki on the Offa robbery saga and the alleged plan by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to arrest Ekweremadu over alleged money laundering.

“CAN condemns in strong terms the way and manner in which the Police were deployed to subject the leadership of the National Assembly to embarrassment and harassment. The action is a siege to democracy.

“As stakeholders in the survival of Nigeria’s democracy, we have no choice but to speak up against the unfolding political mess that is capable of rubbishing the country’s good standing in the comity of nations,” he stated.

Meanwhile, the District Superintendent, Apostolic Faith Church in charge of West and Central Africa (WECA) District, Reverend Emmanuel Bayo Adeniran, has charged Nigerian leaders to be aware that the citizens were groaning under severe poverty and insecurity.

He stressed that God would hold the country’s leadership responsible for whatever the nation was passing through.

He said this yesterday at the Apostolic Faith Church District Headquarters in Lagos at a press briefing on its annual convention with the theme: A Life Without Blemish, scheduled for August 5 to August 26, 2018 in Ogun State.

Adeniran, who lamented the killings and corruption in the country, said God would certainly require the leadership to give account of whatever happened in the country “because to whom much is given, much would be required.”