By Chibuike Nwabuko
Abuja (Sundiata Post) — The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has criticised, in strong terms, the alleged illegal detention of four members of the Board Trustees of CAN Trust Fund, by the Department of State Services (DSS), on the orders of its Director-General, Mamman Daura.
Consequently, CAN, which urged the DSS to be “more circumspect in dealing with the body of Christ in Nigeria, if not for any other reason, but to ensure and promote the confidence of the average Nigerian Christian in the government of the day”, has demanded that the DSS should tender a written apology to arrested quartet.
“Regrettably, despite assurances from your operatives, led by the Director of Operations, who said that the invitation was only to interact with these distinguished Nigerian Christians and to seek their opinion and advice on how to address the lingering ethno-religious crises in Nigeria, it turned out that the main reason behind the invitation was your interest in the video jingle produced by CAN, under the slogan “I C A N support”, to raise funds for the support of the Church and distressed Christians in Nigeria.
“Having considered the negative effect of your interrogation “under caution” of the distinguished members of the Board of Trustees of the CAN Trust Fund on the Christian community in Nigeria, the leadership of CAN, hereby, demands that a written public apology be tendered to these distinguished Nigerians.
“It was, therefore, shocking to hear from your establishment that these materials were made to incite violence in response to the attempted annihilation of the Church in Southern Kaduna. With all due respect, such analysis and conclusion were vexatious and very wrong,” CAN said in a statement.
CAN pointed out that the distinguished personalities, who were invited by the DSS as neither members of its National Executive Committee nor members of its registered Board of Trustees.
“And so, (they) did not deserve the action you took against them,” it added.
According to him, CAN was, and will always be predisposed to dialogue with the DSS on issues relating to the general peaceful coexistence of the ethnic nationalities and religious communities in Nigeria.
“When we received information that your office has invited some eminent Nigerians, who are Members of the Board of Trustees of the CAN Trust Fund, to your Abuja Head Office on various dates, January 27, 2017 inclusive, for some undisclosed reasons, my office was in turn directed to address the letter under reference to you. In it, the CAN leadership objected to the manner of the invitation.
“Unfortunately, you ignored our request while also insisting that the persons invited should report to your Head Office as a matter of extreme urgency, individually and on different dates. The most worrisome and reprehensible aspect of the whole exercise is that these respectable Nigerians, with the exception of General Dogonyaro, were compelled to write statements “under caution” as if they were common criminals,” CAN stated.
It was exclusively reported that four BoT members of CAN Trust Fund, who are also leaders of National Christian Elders Forum, were detained and quizzed for four hours at the DSS headquarters in Abuja, following a video in which they were soliciting mobilisation of funds for CAN to rebuild churches destroyed by Boko Haram insurgents in the North East.
Those interrogated by the DSS were a former Chief of General Staff, during the administration of IBB, Lt. Gen. Joshua Dogonyaro (retd), representing TEKAN/ECWA Bloc of CAN; a retired High Court Judge, Justice Kalajine Anigbogu, representing Christian Council of Nigeria Bloc; Mrs. Osaretin Demuren, representing Organisation of African Instituted Churches and a former Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Tunde Lemo, representing Christian Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria and Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria.
A former President of Nigerian Bar Association, Dame Priscilla Kuye, representing the Catholic Bloc, President of NCEF, Solomon Asemota; its General Secretary, Bosun Emmanuel, and many others were scheduled to be invited for questioning by the DSS in subsequent weeks.
Others billed for interrogation include: the President of CAN, Dr. Samson Supo Ayokunle, and its General Secretary, Dr. Musa Asake.