The Catholic Archbishop
of Lagos, Most Rev Al-
fred Adewale Martins has
condemned in very strong
terms, the recent killing of Michael
Nnadi, an eighteen-year-old seminar-
ian abducted alongside three other
seminarians of The Good Shepherd
Major Seminary, Kaduna by gun men
recently.
In a release signed by the Director
of Social Communications, Rev Fr.
Anthony Godonu, he said the grue-
some murder of the innocent young
man was yet another indication of the
failure of the present security arrange-
ment of the Federal Government to
address insecurity in the nation.
He warned that the persistent cas-
es of inability of the FG to safeguard
the lives of innocent Nigerians was
capable of breeding a state of anarchy
in the land as the people cannot just
fold their hands and watch themselves
slaughtered like animals.
Archbishop Martins said it was time
the President took another look at
the present security structures in the
land and rejig them before the masses
began to take the law into their own
hands.
“I received with great sadness the
news of the murder of the fourth sem-
inarian, Mr. Michael Nnadi who was
kidnapped recently in Kaduna. This
was a young man who abandoned all
with the desire to serve His creator
and humanity, now murdered for no
just cause. This is just one of sever-
al cases of innocent Nigerians being
killed on daily basis by gun men while
our security services and their chiefs
watch as if they were helpless. Only
recently we had the case of the CAN
Chairman in Adamawa State who was
executed and before that the murder
of eleven innocent people by so-called
ISWAP and the execution of the two
students returning to their studies in
Maiduguri. We have also had situa-
tions of suicide bombers going into
mosques to murder people who had
simply gone to worship God as they
know Him. This appalling situation
must come to an end. We cannot just
fold our arms and allow these mon-
strous activities to continue to thrive.
The consequences of the dastardly acts
on the psyche of Nigerians can only be
imagined. The Federal Government
must act now before things get out of
hand.
The Archbishop said further: “For
a while now, many Nigerians from
different walks of life have been call-
ing for a revamping of the security
arrangements in the nation even if it
means the replacement of the Heads
of the various Security Agencies in
order to give room for new ideas. It is
beyond doubt that the gains of the past
few years are being lost because those
at the helm of affairs and the soldiers
in the thick of the war are tired and
need to be replaced. The strategy for
executing the war needs to be reexam-
ined to determine its effectiveness.
Recently, the Governors of the
South West started a security outfit
(Amotekun) to support the present
arrangement on ground and there
was needless furore raised by some
elements with questionable motives.
Perhaps now that the same demands
are being made by Governors of the
South East, the matter would be tak-
en more seriously.’
Archbishop Martins, while warning
that no group of people should be al-
lowed to continue to operate outside
the law said that the kids glove ap-
proach being utilized by the security
Agencies in addressing insecurity in
the land was not yielding the desired
result. He therefore insisted that the
only way the FG can reassure the peo-
ple that they are committed to their
welfare was to enforce mass arrest of
the perpetrators and bring an end to
the menace of kidnapping across the
land.
He condoled with the families of
the slain seminarian, the Bishop of
Sokoto, the priests and faithful of
the Diocese as well as the staff and
seminarians of the Good Shepherd
Seminary and indeed all the peo-
ple of Nigeria and the Catholics in
particular. He urged them to remain
calm and prayerful, assuring them
that light would eventually prevail
over darkness.
