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

Published

5 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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Strait Of Hormuz: US Announces Sanctions Against Iran

Published

13 minutes ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The United States Treasury has announced sanctions against Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority.

Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said this in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement extended the threat of sanctions to anyone paying the fees, saying they may be providing support to and receiving services from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and therefore may be exposed to sanctions risk.

“The Iranian military’s latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash.

“Treasury has deprived the Iranian regime of revenue for their weapons programs, terrorist proxies, and nuclear ambitions,” Bessent said.

Bessent added that the US has succeeded in disrupting tens of billions of dollars’ worth of revenue from being accessible to Tehran.

Headline

US Launches New Airstrikes On Iran

Published

16 minutes ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The United States has launched new airstrikes in southern Iran.

The strike shot down four one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz and then a ground control site.

A US official revealed that American forces struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.

The official described the strikes as purely defensive, saying the US intended to maintain the ceasefire.

Report says this is the second time in three days that the US has carried out self-defense strikes against Iranian military targets in southern Iran.

Recall that on Monday the US carried out airstrikes against Iranian missile locations and boats that US Central Command said were preparing to launch mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

Headline

Woman Passes Out After Receiving 100 Strokes Of Cane

Published

4 days ago

May 24, 2026

Editor

A woman has passed out after she and her partner were each flogged 100 times in public for engaging in sex outside marriage under strict Sharia laws in Indonesia’s Aceh province.

The woman, whose identity was not disclosed, was later carried away after the punishment was carried out in Banda Aceh, located at the northern tip of Sumatra island on Thursday.

A masked official dressed in brown robes administered the caning before members of the public who gathered to witness the punishment.

Her partner was also seen wincing in pain while receiving the lashes.

The pair were among several individuals punished for violating Sharia regulations in the province.

Authorities from the Banda Aceh Sharia Court and the Prosecutor’s Office handed down punishments ranging from 25 to 100 lashes for offences including extramarital sex allegedly arranged through online applications.

Aceh remains the only province in Muslim-majority Indonesia operating under Sharia law, where unmarried couples are prohibited from having sexual relations.

Caning is commonly used in the province as punishment for offences such as gambling, alcohol consumption, same-sex relations and sex outside marriage.

Under Aceh’s Sharia regulations, child rape offenders face some of the harshest penalties, including up to 200 strokes of the cane, a prison sentence of as long as 200 months or fines equivalent to two kilograms of gold.

The punishments are usually carried out publicly as a way of shaming offenders in addition to inflicting physical pain.

Such canings are often conducted outside mosques or in open public spaces, with residents watching and taking photographs during the exercise.

Human rights organisations have continued to condemn the practice, arguing that it causes emotional trauma and violates international human rights standards.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly criticised the punishments, saying they conflict with Indonesia’s constitution and global legal obligations.

Amnesty said in a statement: “Caning contravenes Indonesia’s constitution and is in clear violation of international human rights law and standards.

‘It constitutes a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and can amount to torture in violation of the UN Convention against Torture and other international covenants, to which Indonesia is a State Party.’”

Despite the criticism, local authorities have defended the punishments as part of Aceh’s religious and cultural identity, insisting they serve as a deterrent against immoral behaviour.

Earlier in January, another couple in the province reportedly received 140 lashes each after being found guilty of drinking alcohol and engaging in sex outside marriage.

(Daily Mail)