Edo cleric charges religious leaders on security alertness

From Chika Nnadozie, Benin City

FOLLOWING the barbaric killings of innocent worshippers at St Francis Catholic Church in Owo, on Sunday, the Chief lmam of Benin, Mallam Abdulfatah Enabulele has called on religious leaders in Edo State to take precautionary measures that would protect worshippers during service across the state.

  In a press statement signed by the clergy and made available to newsmen in Benin City, Mallam Enabulele said setting up internal security measures has become imperative since the citizenry can no longer rely on the government’s non – chalant attitude towards the protection of lives and properties of Nigerians across the country.

  Mallam Enabulele in his six points recommendations to religious leaders on how to curtail the excesses of insecurity ravaging the entire country, noted that every vehicle going into Churches and Mosques should henceforth be thoroughly searched and anybody carrying bags into any of the worship centres must submit the same for search while food vendors should maintain a distance outside worship centres.

  The cleric, who condemned in strong terms the Owo Catholic Church’s dastardly killings further advised that nobody should be allowed to be roaming about within worship centres during hours of service, adding that CCTV cameras should be erected in and around premises of Churches and Mosques to monitor persons coming and going out of the centres.

  While advocating for able-bodied men to be mobilised for the internal security arrangements, Mallam Enabulele however said that the perilous time we are in now in terms of insecurity in the country does not warrants blame trading but should be proactive, even as he sympathised with families of those who lost lives in the satanic and senseless killings.