The President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Dr Samson Ayokunle, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to secure the release of Leah Sharibu, an aid worker, Grace Taku, and other hostages being held by Boko Haram terrorists, before it is too late.
Noting that the primary duty of any serious government was the security of lives and property of the people, the Christian leader said any government that failed to guarantee such responsibility might lose the confidence of the citizens.
The Special Assistant, (Media) to the CAN President, Pastor Bayo Oladeji, in a statement in Abuja on Friday, said CAN had seen the video by Taku in which she appealed to the Federal Government, CAN, and other well-meaning people to secure her freedom and those of the other five victims abducted by the Boko Haram insurgents.
In response to Taku’s cry, the Christian association, therefore, appealed to the Federal Government and security agencies to secure her freedom and others.
It said, “The Boko Haram sect sometime in April this year reportedly kidnapped a National Youth Service Corps member, Abraham Amuta, and a cleric with the Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel), identified as Pastor Moses Oyeleke in Borno State. We have not heard anything about their whereabouts.
“We have heard the prompt response made by the Federal Government to the save-our-souls cry of Grace and we join her in calling on President Muhammadu Buhari and the security agencies, especially the Department of State Services, to secure her freedom and that of Leah Sharibu.
“Grace Taku has cried out on behalf of other hostages, like Amuta and Pastor Moses Oyeleke before it is too late.”
The CAN said it strongly believed Sharibu was alive and she and others should be set free, stressing that the government needed to speed up action towards their release.
The group also restated calls for the overhaul of the nation’s security apparatus, noting that the roads were unsafe “as kidnappers, terrorists, killer herdsmen and bandits are operating with impunity.”
