Moderator of Presbyterian Church of Nigeria Warns Against Full War in Jos

The following is a statement from The Presbyterian Church of Nigeria (PCN) on the current crisis in that country. The PCN has a long history of partnership with The Presbyterian Church in Canada which will soon be releasing its own statement on the crisis in Nigeria.

Update 2010-03-10 16:35 EST: See The PCC's official response here.

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The Presbyterian Church of Nigeria
General Assembly Office, 26 - 29 Ehere Rd, Ogbor Hill
P. O. Box 2635, Aba, Abia State, Nigeria

PRESS RELEASE
8th March, 2010

Presbyterian Moderator Warns Against Full War in Jos

The Moderator of the General Assembly of The Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, The Rt. Rev. Dr. Ubon Bassey Usung, has warned that the recurring ethno-religious crisis in Jos, Plateau State, if not checked immediately, might snowball into a full-blown war.

The Moderator was speaking following reports of renewed violence in which armed bandits attacked three communities in Shen village of Jos South Local Government Area, killing many innocent lives, dislocating many families, inflicting heavy casualties and destroying property worth millions of naira.

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Usung strongly condemned the attack which was carried out on unsuspecting villagers and called for a high-powered Conflict Resolution Committee to check the ugly recurrence of violence and bloodshed in that area. He said the Committee should be made up of leaders of the Christian and Muslim religions, Government and community chiefs and security agencies made up of a special task force whose membership should cut across religious and State lines. The Committee should be able to preach peace among the members of the various communities and religions in the area and nip any crisis in the bud.

The Church leader was shocked to note that the attackers were armed with sophisticated arms and ammunitions and suspected highly-placed Nigerians whom he said must have sponsored the crisis. Rt. Rev. Usung called on the Government to stop on nothing to expose the sponsors and punish all the culprits accordingly.

Sgd: Rev. Kalu U. Eme
Director of Information & Public Affairs
The Presbyterian Church of Nigeria