Nigerian Christian Leader Insist On Arrest Of Opposition Chair General Buhari

President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, has called on security agencies to arrest a former Head of State and presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change in the 2011 general elections, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) saying he constitutes a security risk.

The call, he said, followed comments by Buhari condemning the military operations in the three northern states of Yobe, Borno and Adamawa, where a state of emergency has been declared by the Federal Government.

The association, according to a statement by the Special Assistant to the CAN President on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Kenny Ashaka, on Tuesday, also described as unfortunate Buhari’s decision to throw his weight “behind a blood thirsty sect” without considerations for the hundreds of Christians sent to their early graves. He said it was not expected of an ex-head of state.

Buhari was said to have accused the Federal Government of double standards in dealing with the issue of Boko Haram, during a radio programme on Liberty FM in Kaduna,.

He was said to have questioned the “special treatment” given to the Niger-Delta militants by the Federal Government, while the Boko Haram members were being killed and their houses destroyed by the government.

But Oritsejafor, who said Buhari should be arrested and made to account for his reckless statements, described the ex-Nigerian leader as a fanatic with an alleged link with the dreaded sect.

The CAN President also noted that it was shocking that Buhari would be indulging in careless statements while all well-meaning Nigerians were praying for the success of the military operations in the three northern states, where members of the Islamic sect had increasingly wreaked havoe.

According to him, Buhari as a national leader should have been more concerned about the killings of innocent ones by the sect members and the success of the troops rather than acting as a megaphone for the sect.

But in his reaction, the Publicity Secretary of CPC, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, told reporters that CAN, under Oritsejafor, had become more political than religious.

He said, “The CAN, under Oritsejafor, is more political than religious; in any clime, religious leaders have always been the moral conscience of the nation in ensuring that the ship of state is not in peril.

“After the incendiary protests of the 2011 elections, Pastor Oritsejafor, without any verifiable evidence, called for the arrest of General Muhammadu Buhari for allegedly being responsible for the protests,” he said.