The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Kaduna State on Wednesday debunked widely circulated reports that some Muslims protected Christians during Christmas service in Kaduna town. Reverend Sunday Ibrahim, the secretary of the Kaduna State chapter of CAN, made the refutation in a statement he released at a press briefing.
Mr. Ibrahim stated that it had nothing against genuine peace advocates, but added that it opposed the spreading of falsehood. The Christian organization declared that there was no single church in Kaduna that faced any attack that warranted protection. It also disclosed that the usual security agents were drafted to secure Christian worshippers on Christmas day.
“It has become imperative for us to clarify this falsehood and confusion in local and international media,” said the CAN spokesman. “Many of our members have been calling and asking questions whether a Church was protected from being attacked by Muslims in [the] Sabo area on Christmas day? And we said it is not true, and we don’t want people to create panic and dishing out [an] inciting story,” the statement continued.
According to the CAN official, “there was no attempted attack on any Church in Kaduna town on Christmas day that [warranted] some Muslims coming to protect the Church from attackers.”
Mr. Ibrahim emphasized that there was “no record of any Church in Sabon Tasha, Barnawa and environs out of the over 400 Churches that was protected by Muslims. Sabon Tasha is a 100 percent Christian-dominated area, and how will Muslims come from Rigasa and Tudun Wada to protect a Church in Sabon Tasha?”
He added: “We are not against any peace initiative as we are working with Jama’atu Nasril Islam for peace. However we are not aware of this fabricated story from any Church, security agencies, military, police and the SSS capable of creating confusion.
He explained that some Muslims visited a Christian pastor on Christmas day to celebrate Christmas with him, but not to protect a Church as was widely reported. He urged the media to verify their facts before publishing, assuring Christians that no single Church was threatened on Christmas day.