Declare state of emergency on insecurity, CAN urges FG

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has implored the Federal Government to declare an immediate state of emergency to address the nation's escalating insecurity. Archbishop Daniel Okoh, CAN President, made this urgent appeal in Abuja during the presentation of a communiqué from the association's National Church Denominational Leaders Summit.

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We are talking to a government that still has a level of responsibility, and so they will listen. We hope that when they listen, they will do the needful.

The summit, themed "The State of the Nation and the Way Forward," convened top church leaders to prayerfully assess the country's challenges. Archbishop Okoh emphasized that CAN's call is not a threat but a necessary reminder to the administration of President Bola Tinubu regarding its constitutional responsibility to defend the nation and ensure the welfare of its people.

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It has come to that point where the government will have to declare a state of emergency on security.

"It has come to that point where the government will have to declare a state of emergency on security," Okoh stated. Responding to questions about self-defense, he noted that while self-preservation is a natural instinct, any such actions must adhere to legal boundaries. "People and churches should be able to defend themselves, their properties and their homes within reasonable legal limits," he stressed.

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It is a natural human instinct for one to defend himself. But what we are saying in CAN is that people and churches should be able to defend themselves, their properties and their homes within reasonable legal limits.

CAN also expressed support for international collaboration to combat insecurity, particularly tactical cooperation with the United States. "If it takes other countries coming to help us out of this situation, so be it," Okoh remarked, highlighting the severity of the challenges spreading across the country, from the North and North-Central regions to the South.

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If you are overwhelmed and people are coming to help you, you will not say no. You will welcome them, provided they follow the proper lines of engagement.