Oba Akintunde Akinyemi, Eselu of Iselu, has written to the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Revd Supo Ayokunle, about the killing of many worshippers at the St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.
In an open letter to the CAN President on Tuesday, Oba Akintunde suggested that churches in the country facilitate the deployment of ‘closed-circuit televisions (CCTV) to constantly monitor movements into and out of worship centers.
According to the First-class Oba’s letter, the video footage from the ‘closed-circuit televisions (CCTV)’ would constantly assist church authorities in alerting security agents when necessary.
Oba Akinyemi emphasized that the CAN should also require all churches in the country to purchase and use security equipment in order to put an end to gruesome killings in worship centers.
Saddened by the massacre of churchgoers by unidentified gunmen, the monarch called the incident not only heinous, but sacrilegious, declaring that “we must all stand up more than ever to vehemently condemn and reject the invasion of churches by unknown gunmen.”
Eselu emphasized that the CAN should continue to condemn killings of Christians and Muslims under the guise of blasphemy, calling such incidents barbaric and unacceptable.
He advised all Nigerians to direct their efforts toward a “outright halting of this madness in our dear country, Nigeria.”
The letter reads partly: “CAN President, it is important to note that the Owo tragedy is capable of putting an unprecedented fear into the minds of the children of God and this alone can make them to desist from going to worship centres to pray to God. To me, we must not allow things to degenerate to that level where Christians will desist from congregating to worship God.
“Your Eminence, it is, therefore, my sincere opinion that for the children of God to be courageous and feel safe, the Christian Association of Nigeria under your able leadership should put the safety of the children of God at the front burner. The Bible, in the book of Matthew 26:41, says ‘Watch and pray ….’ It is good to pray fervently, but the scripture also asks us to be watchful.
“In short, my admonition to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is that, as a matter of urgency, they should facilitate the deployment of some ‘closed-circuit televisions (CCTV) to every church in the country so as to constantly monitor the movement into and out of worship centres.
“The video footage from the ‘closed-circuit televisions (CCTV) will continually assist the church authorities to raise alarm to security agents when the need arises. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) should also mandate all churches in the country to purchase and use security gadgets for their protection.
“It is my belief that once this technology and other security gadgets are deployed in all churches across the country, the children of God will boldly and regularly congregate to worship the Almighty God.”
