TheCable

Christian clerics in Kaduna, identified as members of the Interfaith Alliance, a religious group, staged a rally on Thursday over “increasing terrorist attacks” in the state.

The pastors gathered around the Lagos roundabout in Kaduna and displayed placards in what they called a peaceful demonstration.

Emmanuel Adebayo, convener of the group, said the reason for the demonstration was to pray about the security challenges faced in the state.

“The essence of our gathering today is to put together what we refer to as ‘Kaduna prays’, as prayers work against insecurity,” he said.

“I am sure everybody knows that Kaduna is one of the states plagued by incidences of banditry and terrorism and various forms of criminality and of late, it has been on the increase.

“The government needs to be more proactive. We have been hearing about the cry of our governor. He said he has been taking the reports to those concerned; he said they know where they are, and that they listen to their telephone conversations, but the response from the security agencies is not good enough.

“So, we are praying that God should touch their hearts to put in more efforts and to be more responsive so that this issue of insecurity won’t be more reactionary but be preventive.

“We pray that God will give them more wisdom on how to go about it in Jesus’ name.”

In recent months, communities across Kaduna have been attacked by gunmen, leading to killings, abductions and destruction of property.

On March 26, the Kaduna international airport was attacked by terrorists, resulting in the death of a security guard.

Two days after the airport incident, a passenger train was attacked in Kaduna, resulting in eight deaths, while several persons were injured and others declared missing.