Religious Intolerance: CAN Chides US Govt, Says Boko Haram, ISWAP, Bandits Killing Christians

Published

4 years ago

November 21, 2021

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has requested the United States Government to provide the data used to delist Nigeria from ‘Countries of Particular Concern’ regarding freedom of religion.

CAN asked if the US was unaware that Boko Haram, Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP), bandits and violent herdsmen still attack Christians.

The President, Rev Samson Ayokunle, in a statement on Saturday, regretted that America did not contact the body before taking its decision.

The leader noted that CAN would have compared their statistics then and now with its own.

He said whatever the parameters “the prayer is Nigeria would be a country where no religious group is persecuted and our government ensures religiously-biased policies are discontinued”.

The President said terrorists’ agenda was to “wipe away Christianity and plant Islam as the only religion from the North down to the Atlantic Ocean in the South”.

Ayokunle informed the US that the bandits have joined other militant Islamic groups, “ferociously attacking churches, killing worshippers and kidnapping for ransom”.

“The herdsmen are equally doing their havoc. We have lost many people and places of worship to their assault.

“The madness has grown now and those who are not Christians are being attacked, killed and kidnapped.

“This is because these criminal acts have become a lucrative business and it is whoever you can kidnap for money!”

Ayokunle maintains all right-thinking people would continue to ask the US to let the world know what has changed.

Citing examples, the cleric accused many Northern states of failing to reverse the policy which denies Christians the Certificate of Occupancy to build churches.

He complained that the states do not allow Christian students to study Christian Religious Studies in public schools.

Ayokunle said Christian students are denied admission to government universities to study courses like Law and Medicine, among others.

The statement reminded America that Leah Sharibu and students kidnapped from Bethel Baptist High School were left with the kidnappers “without any purposeful rescue mission”.

“The relatives and churches of the kidnapped people are being forced to pay ransoms worth millions of Naira to secure their people or children!

“The Federal Government refused to see banditry as terrorism and has therefore refused to label them as terrorists. For whose good is this?

“Is it because the bandits are close to those in government or because of religious consideration?”, Ayokunle quipped.

He expressed dismay that terrorists who surrendered or were captured are not prosecuted but cared for under the Buhari administration’s rehabilitation programme.

“These people sent many people to early graves! Is this action of government fair to the people they killed and the rest of us traumatized and put in sadness.”.

Ayokunle disclosed that religious persecution and discrimination will be discussed at the next Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC).

This, according to him, would douse tension and foster a harmonious relationship between religious adherents in the country.

(DAILY POST)

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Court Jails Two For Targeting President With Sorcery

Published

12 hours ago

September 15, 2025

Editor

A Zambian court on Monday sentenced two men to two years in prison with hard labour on charges of attempting to use witchcraft to kill the country’s president.

Mozambican national Jasten Mabulesse Candunde and Zambian village chief Leonard Phiri were arrested in December in possession of charms, including a live chameleon.

Police said they planned to use the charms to harm President Hakainde Hichilema, and they were charged with professing knowledge of witchcraft and possession of charms.

“The motive of the crime was to kill the head of state,” magistrate Fine Mayambu ruled in the capital Lusaka on Monday.

“The convicts were not only enemies of the head of state but all Zambians. I therefore sentence them to 24 months imprisonment with hard labour from the date of their arrest,” he said.

The prosecution said the men had been hired by the brother of opposition MP Emmanuel “Jay Jay” Banda, who is facing trial for robbery, attempted murder and escaping custody.

Two Nigerians Face Jail Terms In Liberia’s Piracy Trial

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12 hours ago

September 15, 2025

Editor

Criminal Court ‘D’ in Monrovia is set to deliver judgment this week in Liberia’s first piracy trial, involving two Nigerian nationals accused of hijacking a cargo vessel in the Gulf of Guinea.

According to court records, the defendants were arrested earlier this year after a Liberia-flagged ship was seized by armed men while transporting goods through international waters. The crew sent a distress signal, prompting international maritime forces to intervene.

The suspects were subsequently transferred to Liberian authorities under global maritime cooperation protocols.

According to Liberia’s news platform, Front Page Africa, the case has attracted attention because Liberia maintains one of the world’s largest open ship registries, yet prosecutions for piracy within its domestic courts have not previously occurred. Under international law, Liberia holds jurisdiction over crimes involving ships registered under its flag.

On Monday, proceedings took a new turn when defense lawyer, Cllr. Bestman Juah, informed the court that the defendants had admitted responsibility for the hijacking and were requesting a plea-bargain arrangement. State prosecutors did not oppose the request, leaving open the possibility of reduced sentences in exchange for full cooperation.

Resident Judge Mameita Jabateh-Sirleaf, who presides over Criminal Court ‘D’, will rule on whether to accept the plea deal and determine the sentencing framework. The ruling could also address deportation measures following imprisonment.

Criminal Court ‘D’ handles cases involving armed robbery, terrorism, hijacking, and other serious crimes, and the piracy trial represents a growing trend of transnational offenses being prosecuted within Liberia’s judicial system.
As of press time, the court has not announced the date for sentencing.

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Spain Cancels $825m Israel Arms Deal Over Gaza

Published

12 hours ago

September 15, 2025

Editor

The Spanish government has cancelled a contract worth nearly 700 million euros ($825 million) for Israeli-designed rocket launchers.

The move comes after Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced last week that his government would “consolidate in law” a ban on military equipment sales or purchases with Israel over its offensive in Gaza.

The contract, awarded to a consortium of Spanish companies, involved the purchase of 12 SILAM rocket launcher systems derived from the PULS platform made by Israeli firm Elbit Systems, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Military Balance.

First reported by local media and the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the cancellation was formalised on Spain’s official public contracts platform on September 9.

The following day, Sanchez unveiled measures aimed at stopping what his leftist government called “the genocide in Gaza”.

It includes the approval of a decree imposing a ban on military equipment sales or purchases with Israel due to its military offensive in Gaza, launched after the Hamas attacks in October 2023.

Spain applied the ban as Israel stepped up its military onslaught.

Spain has also formalized the cancellation of another contract for 168 anti-tank missile launchers, which were to be manufactured under license from an Israeli company.

That contract, valued at 287 million euros, had been first reported by the press in June.

According to Spanish daily La Vanguardia, the government is undertaking a broader review to phase out Israeli weapons and technology from its armed forces.

Sanchez has emerged as one of Europe’s most outspoken critics of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Gaza policy.

Relations between the two countries have been tense for months.

Israel has not had an ambassador in Spain since Madrid recognized the state of Palestine in 2024.

Last week, Spain recalled its ambassador to Israel after heated exchanges over Sánchez’s new measures.

The Barcelona-based Delas Centre, a security research institute, estimated in April that since the start of the Gaza war, Spain had awarded 46 contracts worth $1.044 billion to Israeli companies, based on public tender data.