Former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani on Saturday warned religious clerics against getting killed or kidnapped by bandits operating in many parts of Nigeria.
According to him, Imams who want to go to the villages to preach during Ramadan or Pastors who want to visit the rural areas for evangelism during the Easter period should have a rethink.
He urged them to suspend such plans so as not to fall victim to the bandits operating in such areas.
He wrote: “To the Imams in our own part of the country who wants to move to the villages to preach during Ramadan; To the Pastors who wants to move to the rural areas to minister during Easter, suspend action; Bandits are Godless.”
To the Imams in our own part of the country who wants to move to the villages to preach during Ramadan;To the Pastors who wants to move to the rural areas to minister during Easter,suspend action;Bandits are Godless.
— Senator Shehu Sani (@ShehuSani) March 27, 2021
He wrote this after initially reacting to the kidnap of some RCCG evangelists who were kidnapped in Kaduna State.
As previously reported by Naija News, gunmen suspected to be bandits have abducted eight members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) evangelism team, Trinity Sanctuary, Kaduna.
It is understood that the gunmen had kidnapped them on Friday on their way for evangelism in the Southern Kaduna.
“The report of the Kidnapping of RCCG members along Kachia road in Kaduna is yet another tragedy. Bandits have turned our state into their hub; B4 one kidnap is resolved, another one is unfolding. Humans have become prey. On entry you meet their snare, on exit you meet their ambush,” he tweeted.
The report of the Kidnapping of RCCG members along Kachia road in Kaduna is yet another tragedy.Bandits have turned our state into their hub;B4 one kidnap is resolved,another one is unfolding.Humans have become preys.On entry you meet their snare,on exit you meet their ambush.
— Senator Shehu Sani (@ShehuSani) March 27, 2021
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army on Friday declared that some troops deployed in Operation Lafiya Dole didn’t protest their posting but only mildly complained about some issues.
The Army in a statement signed by the Director Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Mohammed Yerima also debunked reports that the troops besieged the headquarters of the Theatre Command in Borno State, shooting sporadically into the air on Thursday to protest over alleged unpaid operational allowances as well as obsoleted equipment.
On the issue of complaints by the soldiers that the government gave them obsolete weapons to fight, the statement noted that while the soldiers have a right to complain, the military authorities and the government are always working on updating their weapons.
Yerima, therefore, submitted that the earlier reports of an uprising by the soldiers were unsubstantiated and don’t represent a true picture of the incidents.
The Army’s reaction follows some reports that the affected soldiers on Thursday stormed the headquarters of Operation Lafiya Dole in angry protest over unpaid allowances, obsolete weapons, and some other inhumane working conditions, shooting sporadically into the air.