Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called on the intervention of Pope Francis and US President Donald Trump on the pressing issue of Christian Persecution in Nigeria.
The human rights group wrote the letter to the world leaders after a recent attack on Kaduna state seminary where 4 young boys were abducted by gunmen.
The laxity of Kaduna security agencies to rescue the boys and recover stolen items prompted the decision of HURIWA to write Trump and Pope Francis seeking their help.
Here is the content of the letter;
“We have consistently asked the politicians of Kaduna state to respect section 14(3) of the constitution which obliges the appointments of all ethnoreligious community members into strategic offices but in 2019 election, the governor made sure only Moslems are railroaded into the offices of governor, deputy and even the office of Speaker of the State House of Assembly is occupied by a Moslem.
“This is the fuel that has ignited widespread mistreatment of Christians. The incessant attacks by armed Islamists targeting only Pastors, Christian schools and clerics of Christian denomination have become a national emergency.
“On the last count virtually all major Christian denominations in Kaduna state have witnessed dozens of attacks just as dozens of Pastors have died in the cause of these targeted armed invasions and kidnapping. We are not accusing the Kaduna state government of involvement but we are worried about the conspiratorial silence to these series of attacks.
“Since Nigerian state and the Kaduna state government are not treating these threats as a national emergency, we have decided to let the world know the true state of things and we are happy that some organisations have made similar findings.
“Sadly, the Kaduna state government and the office of the Nigerian President are deeply entrenched in the selective appointments of mostly Moslems as holders of virtually all strategic positions thus neglecting the other key constituents who are Christians and atheists including worshippers of African traditional religion.
“The recent kidnapping of senior seminarians of the Catholic Church in Kaduna state is one of such widespread well-coordinated attacks.
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“The four seminarians, between the ages of 18 and 23, were abducted Wednesday night recently from their seminary in Kaduna, in northwestern Nigeria.
“Pius Kanwai, 19; Peter Umenukor, 23; Stephen Amos, 23; and Michael Nnadi, 18, were taken from Good Shepherd Seminary in Kaduna, around 10:30 pm on January 8 by gunmen. Police are searching for the four young men.”