The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Dr. Anthony Cardinal Okogie, has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to use all security and intelligence network at his disposal to unmask the sponsors of the dreaded Boko Haram sect and deal with them decisively.
Responding to the recent bombing of the United Nations building in Abuja, which claimed 23 lives, Okogie said the continuous spate of mayhem being unleashed on the nation by members of the faceless sect was becoming a matter of national embarrassment capable of disintegrating the nation if not properly checked.
Okogie, in a release signed by the Director, Social Communications, Lagos Archdiocese, Rev. Msgr. Gabriel Osu, and made available to LEADERSHIP, wondered why the President seem to treat the Boko Haram issue with kid gloves despite the increasing number of lives lost and properties destroyed by the terrorist activities of the sect.
He, however, urged President Jonathan to summon the political will to address this worsening insecurity in the land before it becomes too late.
He said, “My heart goes out to those who lost their loved once during the UN Building bombing at Abuja. It is one terror too many. Nigerians are tired of tolerating this unwarranted spate of terrorism on the land. So many innocent lives have been lost and what have our security agents got to show for it?
“The time has come for President Jonathan to show that he is in charge. As the Commander-In-Chief, the buck stops at his table. He must rise and take the bull by the horn, no matter whose ox is gored. He must unearth the sponsors of these terrorist activities and bring them to book so as to restore the people’s confidence in him. It is obvious that some people are out to make the country ungovernable for him. He must identify them and make them face the music.”
The Clergy also condemned the recent arrest of some members of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra ( MASSOB) by the Police without provocation, warning that since no one was above the law, there should not be selective justice in addressing the spate of insecurity in the land.