TheCable

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has asked its members to ensure that the planned protests against the killing of Deborah Emmanuel are restricted to church premises.

On May 12, Deborah, a female student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto state, was killed by a mob over alleged blasphemy.

Following the development, CAN had asked church leaders to organise a protest on May 22 by 3pm in CAN secretariats and churches nationwide.

The association had also asked Christians to hold placards with messages such as ‘We demand justice for Deborah’, ‘No more killing in God’s name’, ‘Enough is Enough’, ‘Police, stop unprovoked killings in Nigeria’, ‘Christians are not second-class citizens’, ‘Killers of Deborah must be prosecuted’, ‘We condemn religious killings’.

In a statement on Saturday, Samson Ayokunle, CAN national president, called for the protests to be restricted to church premises as the association had received information of plans to “cause chaos and attribute it to us”.

“In view of the foregoing, I urge you all to do the protest of placard carrying within the premises of your local churches or your CAN secretariat,” the statement reads.

“However, where it is unsafe to do the protest in the premises of your church or CAN secretariat, you may carry the placards inside your church and pray for justice for Deborah [Emmanuel] who was wickedly and extra-judicially slain.

“Pray as well for a change of heart for the wicked who find it convenient for them to kill their fellow human beings under religious guise.

“In all, let the television cover your in-house protest and equally use the social media for the entire world to see.”