CAN youth accuse Buhari of bias over killing of Christians, others

• Allegation baseless, false – APC
• Ortom sympathises with Lalong over attack

The Youth Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (YOWICAN) has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of bias in his handling of religious crisis in the country.

The group cited last week’s killing of dozens of Christians in Plateau and failure by the President to visit the state as proof he is leader of Muslim faithful rather than of all Nigerians, irrespective of religion.

It pointed at what it described was the administration’s swiftness in confronting issues whenever Muslims are involved, and negligence when Christians are affected.

YOWICAN’s national president, Engr. Daniel Kadzai, in a statement in Adamawa yesterday said: “When 18 Muslims were killed in a reprisal attack in Taraba State, the Presidency, the military and the police hunted for the attackers. But when over 40 Christians were killed in Plateau State, the President traveled out of the country, three days after the incident.”

He added: “When a few Muslims were killed in Ibadan, the President was there with the police, swiftly making arrests. But when Fulani herdsmen killed Christians in Benue, the police did not arrest anyone. In Enugu, Edo, and the massacre in southern Kaduna State, the police could not find even one of the attackers.

“It is now very clear to we Christians why the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) can be tagged a terrorist group, but Fulani herdsmen and the Arewa Youth Forum cannot be tagged with any criminal identity.”

The All Progressives Congress (APC) chapter in Adamawa however described the allegation as baseless.

According to its secretary, Alhaji Ahmed Lawan, it is an attempt to tarnish the image of the President.

He argued that if Buhari successfully checkmated the Boko Haram insurgency, which started under former President Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian, he deserves applause rather than condemnation.

He explained that no true Muslim would kill another person or support the same, and urged the Youth to expend its energy on issues that could promote unity and development in the country.

The Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, meanwhile has expressed sympathy with his Plateau State counterpart, Simon Lalong, over the killings.

Ortom said that as a state that has passed though similar tragedy, Benue and its people are in a position to appreciate the plight of the victims.