The Nigerian Cleric Council of Bishops and Imams, NCCBI, say Nigerians are losing hope in their elected representatives as they continue to be shattered by insecurity, economic hardship and injustice.
The group of Bishops and Imams made this known during a prayer session in Abuja.
The prayer was organised in collaboration with Leadwell Africa Global Initiative.
Bishop Lawrence Ngene, President of NCCBI, who addressed the media said they were “driven by the spirit of oneness and “as concerned citizens of our dear nation”.
He added that it was to “share the pain we suffered from the country that is being covered with a cloud of darkness and stained with the blood of some of her innocent citizens.”
The group prayed for the detailed former head of the Police Intelligent Response Team, IRT, Abba Kyari, and urged President Bola Tinubu to release him.
Recall that the embattled Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, was retained in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service, NCoS, last year. This was despite being granted N50 million bail.
Furthermore, the ‘Super Cop’ is facinedg a separate charge over alleged involvement in drug trafficking.
The bishop said the souls of the innocent ones were “either restless in the sky or in the hands of kidnappers, bandits, armed robbers and terrorists, who have turned our day to perilous and fearful night, where evils prevail.”
He noted that as concerned citizens of Nigeria, the bishops and imams feel the pain “over the ugly situations in the country.
“We feel the pain and the loss of the departed souls of innocent Nigerians. Their lives were cut short by the enemies of the country called bandits, armed robbers, kidnappers and terrorists.
“We feel the pain of the rising cases of insecurities across the country” and “the rising cost of living in Nigeria and hardship in the land.
“We feel the pain of Nigerians. They feel disappointed that fellow Nigerians take advantage of the weakness of Naira against dollars to inflate and manipulate prices of goods and services in the country.
“We feel the pain of the rising cases of corruption. This ranges from embezzlement of public funds, nepotism, favouritism, tribalism, amongst others that have taken the order of the day both at the public and private institutions.”
Why we pray for Abba Kyiari
The bishops and imams, who prayed for Abba Kyari said it’s sad that “common Nigerians are losing their lives. Others have lost hope and confidence in the judiciary system.”
Furthermore, he noted that some Nigerians have also “lost trust in their representatives at both the lower and upper chambers of the national assembly.”
They decried the “loss of hope and trust in the electoral system in Nigeria. There are Nigerians in the Nigerian Correctional Centres that have not been tried at competent jurisdiction for their alleged crimes.”
The bishops and imams further said they “feel the pain of Nigerians who are calling for the immediate release of Abba Kyari and his team.
“It is upon these pains in the hearts of Nigerians that have prompted our gathering here today as concerned citizens of Nigeria. We pray to God Almighty to intervene in the ugly situations in which we have found ourselves as a nation.
‘It’s urgent’
“It is upon these pains that we are here to pray to President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, members of the National Assembly, the judiciary, and all the security agencies. They should wake up to their mandates and rescue Nigerians from the pains in their hearts.
“Most urgently, is the pain arising from the insecurities in the country, which is very alarming, and this is where as concerned citizens of our dear nation, we bishops and imams pray to God Almighty and to the leadership of Nigeria to bring Abba Kyari and his team back to Nigerian security architecture.
“We know how the doggedness of Abba Kyari and his team brought down high-profile criminals, terrorists, assassins, and kidnappers.
“We share the feeling of the majority of Nigerians that Abba Kyari and his team can largely take away the pain of fear of unknown gunmen.
“We pray for the presence of tested and trusted hands of Abb a Kyari,” the bishops and imams prayed. And we pray for good governance and good leadership in Nigeria,” they added.
