Terror attacks: Nigeria's umbrella Christian body alleges 'systematic religious cleansing'

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The umbrella Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has alleged that the escalating attacks on churches in the predominantly-Muslim northern Nigeria suggests a ''systematic religious cleansing which reminds Christians of the genesis of a Jihad''.

In a statement issued by its President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, CAN also carpeted the federal government's ''cavalier'' approach to the attacks.

The statement followed Sunday's suicide bombing of three churches in the northern city of Kaduna, which local newspapers said have left over 50 dead and more than 100 injured.

The suicide bombings attracted reprisal attacks from Christians, and forced the state government to impose a 24-hour curfew on the entire state.

CAN said President Goodluck Jonathan's persistent assurance that the attacks, which started in 2009 when the violent Islamic sect Boko Haram launched its terror campaign, would soon end have not materialised, and that Nigerians, particularly Christians, have been subjected to a kind of surrealistic existence.

“What appears more worrisome is the management of the crisis by the President in whose hands the security of lives and property of Nigerians are. Indeed, the management is cavalier in approach as officials at the highest levels send out conflicting signals about strategy,” the statement said.
-0- PANA SEG 20June2012