The Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria, in Bauchi State, Rev Abraham Damina, has said Nigerians deserve to know the very people who have aided the wanton destruction of lives and properties in the country over the years.
Damina who made the statement on Sunday in a sermon at Bishara Baptist Church, during a special church service to mark the 2021 Bauchi State Nigeria Union of Journalists Press Week, said the whole world including the Buhari government, knows that terror groups operating in the country have financial backers, whose names are known to the government.
He therefore, said it makes no sense for a government which promised to end insecurity in the country, to refuse to publish the names of these terror sponsors.
He said: “Since it is in every public domain that the sponsors and financiers are known, a development government has not denied, then, the names should be made official and public so that Nigerians will know the faces of those who have endangered our lives over the years”.
Taking his text from the Book of Jeremiah 5:1-2, he added that: “many innocent lives have been lost, valuable properties have been lost, we need to know those behind all these callousness and wanton destruction of lives and properties.
“There must be concerted efforts to end banditry, kidnapping, killing and other forms of criminality that have become the order of the day.
“We are tired of all these atrocities, we need peace, we need tranquility, we need to sleep with all our eyes closed”.
He admonished Journalists to be, “fearless, courageous, objective, fair, professional and ethical in the line of your duties.
“Tell it the way it is, don’t relent, don’t mince words because the society is eagerly waiting to hear it from you”.
Similarly, former Kaduna State senator, Shehu Sani has wondered why the Buhari government won't publish names of terror sponsors in the country, saying the only reason would be the fear of implicating itself.
Sani who made the statement in a tweet in reaction to the position of the Buhari government on the matter, said, “If the Nigerian Government can’t expose the sponsors of terrorism, then it can’t absolve itself from the horror and tragedy our people experience every day of their lives.”
Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, had said the Federal Government’s focus would be on the prosecution of suspects, not shaming anyone.
“Naming and shaming won’t be the motive. Rather, bringing malefactors to justice would be it. Nigeria is not interested in naming and shaming anybody. Rather, it wants to bring them to justice,” Adesina said.