Sunday Oguomere
11 October 2008
Christian Organisations in Nigeria (CON), a pan-Christian interest group, has called on the National Assembly to come up with drastic legislations aimed at punishing undesirable elements bent on destroying places of worship across the nation.
At the minimum, the group is suggesting any Nigerian guilty of violating places of worship should be sentenced to life imprisonment. This position was contained in a communiqué issued after a day stakeholders' meeting held at Abuja last week, which was made available to our correspondent.
Frowning at the ceaseless destructions of churches especially in the Northern part of the country and the alleged kid's glove with which successive governments have dealt with it, CON was of the opinion that only serious clampdown by the law will checkmate such needless acts and deter perpetrators.
"We hereby call on the National Assembly to enact a law that punishes violators of places of worship with a minimum sentence of life imprisonment," the group said in the seven-page communiqué.
CON also demanded for immediate and full compensations for Christians and Churches affected during the series of religious violence in every part of the country.
Calling on the Federal Government to guarantee religious liberty in the country, the group, a coalition of over 70 different Christian organisations, asked that "Nigeria should pull out with immediate effect from the OIC and Islamic Development Bank (IDB)", declaring that it negates the nation's secular constitution.
It further demanded for the removal of all "religious emblems and inscriptions from strategic materials and institutions especially our National Currency and such other public institutions sponsored by tax payers' money."
On the alleged stoppage of the teaching of Christian Religious Studies (CSR) in some public schools, CON described the move as "ill-motivated" considering that the schools are funded by tax-payers. It called for reversal of the order and the re-engagement of CSR teachers sacked in the process.
The coalition called on Christian groups and organisations to take active part in the on-going constitutional reforms, while indicating its preparedness to participate.
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