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By Tony Edike
Monday, September 20, 2004
ENUGU —THE Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, has raised an alarm over the continued extortion of money from motorists and the reckless handling of weapons by policemen, saying the behaviour of the police has become a terrible embarrassment to the nation. Rising from it’s standing committee meeting in Enugu, the church also called upon both church and political leaders in the country “to take time to reflect on the Holiness, Righteousness and Majesty of God to ensure better leadership.” In a 12-point communiquéé signed by the Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of the church, the Most Reverend Peter Akinola, who presided over the meeting, the church observed with serious concern that “the Nigeria Police has continued with impunity to extort money from motorists as if it were a legitimate toll.”
It also condemned what it described as the “reckless weapon handling by the police,” which has led to indiscriminate shooting and loss of innocent lives, stressing that “the police’s behaviour is a terrible embarrassment and this has caused great damage to our national image.” The church, therefore, called on the police to “repent.” The church, however, commended the Inspector-General of Police, his officers and men over the “Okija Operation” which led to the clamped down on some shrines in the area, and called on all communities that engaged in idol worship to abandon the practice and embrace the bright light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Applauding the current reforms in the nation’s banking sector particularly the proposed enhanced capitalisation of the banks, the church urged the government to ensure that the measure “does not lead to mass retrenchment in the banking sector that could exacerbate the high level of unemployment in the country.” Calling for sustained efforts to fight the prevailing state of insecurity in the country, it noted that the situation, if not arrested, would frustrate efforts by government to attract foreign investment and tourism.
The church called for sustained improvement of the nation’s road network as meaningful economic development depended on the availability of good roads, just as it lamented the unending crisis in the energy sector. “The church observes that NEPA has actually not improved as anticipated. The church laments the negative impact of this situation on large, medium and small-scale industries in the country,” the communiqué said.
Saying that unemployment was spiraling out of control, the church noted that the ugly situation had given rise to an army of beggars, frustrated and angry youths and phenomenal increase in the rate of crime, adding that “the poverty alleviation programme is not succeeding as expected.” It however, repeated its earlier call for a National Conference to restructure the country into a true federalism, so as to ensure justice and equity for all. The church condemned the killings in Sudan. It therefore called for justice for the black people of Darfur.
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