Unidentified hoodlums set the Redeemed Christian Church of God (Root of David Parish) on fire early Monday morning. The church was located in Apiawe village, DeiDei, one of the satellite towns of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria, Vanguard reports.
The suspects, believed to be religious extremists, robbed the church’s musical instruments and other valuable items worth millions of naira before burning the building.
“I want to express my disappointment in this government for the gross dereliction of its duty,” National President of YOWICAN, Daniel Kadzai lamented. “The primary role of government is to provide security to its citizens, irrespective of their religion or ethnicity. But it seems the government has failed in this duty.”
“The people came in the morning and stole everything in the church and burnt it down. The worshipers were not in the church when the incident happened as it was very early in the morning,” one of the eyewitnesses, Danjuma Abdullahi, said.
The Pastor in charge of the parish, Pastor Oladele Stephen, condemned the attack and revealed that the church was also attacked six weeks earlier. The suspects broke into the church and took six ceiling fans, speakers and microphones.
Stephen was dismayed over the government’s inaction to religious persecution in the Federal Capital Territory. “We reported the matter to the police, but no arrest was made,” he said.
In the meantime, Youth Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (YOWICAN) gave a one-week ultimatum to the Federal Government to identify and prosecute the perpetrators, YNaija reports.
“I want to express my disappointment in this government for the gross dereliction of its duty,” National President of YOWICAN, Daniel Kadzai lamented. “The primary role of government is to provide security to its citizens, irrespective of their religion or ethnicity. But it seems the government has failed in this duty.”
Sources:
Vanguardngrcom. (2017). Vanguard News. http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/02/abuja-church-attacked-looted-burnt-suspected-extremists-pastor/
Ynaijacom. (2017). YNaija. https://ynaija.com/hoodlums-burn-redeemed-church-abuja/