Boko Haram: CAN may go to international court –Oritsejafor

Following the unabated attacks on churches by Boko Haram, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) yesterday said it was considering approaching the International Criminal Court (ICC) to press charges against the Islamist sect for crimes committed against Christians.
Disclosing CAN’s plan at the opening of its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting at the Women Development Centre, Awka, Anambra State, the National President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, said the actions of the sect were solely targeted at Christians and aimed at cleaning up Christianity in the North in particular and Nigeria in general.
He said, “the verdict of the International Criminal Court that the Boko Haram has committed crimes against humanity has again vindicated my stand that the American government and indeed, the international community, should as a matter of urgency, designate Boko Haram a foreign terrorist organization.
We in CAN are strongly considering criminal charges against Boko Haram for crimes committed against Christians at the International Criminal Court, because we cannot continue to fold our arms while the sect members continue with the killings of Christians in northern Nigeria. That will be done soon.” He, however, berated the 17 southern governors for what he described as their silence over the killings of their people in the North and challenged them to confront their colleagues in the North to stop the killings of southerners in the North by Boko-Haram.
“We commend the efforts of the security agencies. However, with the way the sect members are succeeding in their attacks on military and other security posts and installations including churches in their environments as evidenced in the bombing of a church inside the Command and Staff College, Jaji, it is obvious that they have not done enough. I speak in this manner because as we are here, my heart goes to these brothers, sisters and children who have paid the supreme price in a state that is supposed to be secular.
We cannot shy away from discussing it because the Boko Haram sect has become a presence that is always there, somewhere in the subconscious. In his speech, Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, took the challenge back to the church, asking the clergy to block the gates of all the government houses in the country to stop corruption, the way it happened in the Philippines some years back during the reign of Ferdinand Marcos. He stated that it was time to say “enough is enough,” as according to him, they would not continue to fold their arms and allow their people slaughtered like cows in the North.
He said, “It is time for the church to take responsibility of correcting the political leaders, a country cannot move forward in the face of too much greed, the level of greed in the country is too high. We should stop celebrating criminality in this country, it is time for churches to block the gates of government houses in this country the way it happened in Philippines to stop corruption, that is where the church and government can partner together to save the situation.”

Sun