Otu imposes curfews in four Cross River communities

Cross River State, Governor Bassey Otu has imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the four communities in Yala Local Government Area following a recent communal clash. The affected areas are the Ugaga, Igbekurekor, Benekaba, and Ijama communities. The clashes, which have reportedly left seven people dead and scores injured, are believed to be rooted in land and boundary disputes.

The directive was contained in a statement by Governor Otu’s spokesperson, Emmanuel Ogbeche, on Tuesday in Calabar.

“The curfew is to enable security agencies to deal decisively with the situation in the affected communities and restore normalcy,”

Otu has also directed the State Emergency Management Agency to work out an immediate intervention in terms of relief materials for crisis victims. He urged traditional rulers in the affected communities to immediately work out ways to restore peace and friendship, stating that he would hold them responsible for any further breakdown of law and order in their domains.

The governor also appealed to people in the affected communities to sheathe their swords and give peace a chance and he warned them to adhere strictly to the curfew in their own interest.

 

Source: Guardian

 

 

Insecurity: Bandits kill 23 pastors, shut down 200 churches in Kaduna- CAN

No fewer than 23 pastors have been killed, while 200 churches have been shut down in Kaduna by bandits within the past four years. The Chairman of the Kaduna State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Rev. John Hayab, disclosed this on Tuesday, at an emergency meeting with the State Commissioner of Police, Musa Garba, and pastors drawn from all over the state held at the Albraka Baptist Church, in the state capital.

The meeting, The PUNCH learnt was meant to discuss on how to collaborate with the church to tackle the spate of insecurity in the state.

“A Pastor who was kidnapped on 8th August, 2023, told the CAN leadership that there are over 215 Christians abducted by the bandits in Birnin Gwani forest. They are still there and the Pastor told us that the bandits asked him to lead prayers for the 215 Christians while he was in their den. “We are calling on the CP to look into this issue among many others holistically to build the confidence of the people once again.

“We have lost over 23 Pastors to bandits in Kaduna in the last few years. The recent one was the killing of Pastor Reverend Jeremiah Wayo when he went to his farm in Kujama in Chikun local government area. He hails from Kano State and he was serving God in Kaduna when the bandits shot and killed him. He was buried last Monday.

“Then the unfortunate incident that happened in Fadan Kamantan also added to the number of God’s servants that bandits have killed in Kaduna State. “Let me say this to you, Commissioner, that over 200 churches have been shut down by bandits. The Baptist church probably has over 100 of their churches shut down. From Birnin Gwari to Chikun and Kajuru, the churches are no longer there. “If you go to many churches you see pastors that came from churches that have been shut down because they cannot continue with it.” he said.

In his response, the commissioner condemned the attack of the St. Rachael Parish, Fadan Kamatan, urging the Christian clerics to “watch and pray” for the sustainability of lasting peace in the state. Garba said bandits’ attacks were not peculiar to the Christian faith alone as other faiths had over the years fallen victims to similar attacks by the hoodlums. He stated that whoever engaged in any act of criminality should be addressed as a criminal without profiling him or her as a Christian, Muslim or by their tribes or ethnicity.

 

Source: Punch