Come to our rescue, Delta Christians urge Uduaghan

BY FESTUS AHON UGHELLI—CHRISTIAN Association of Nigeria, CAN, Patani Local Government Area Chapter, Delta State, has appealed to the state governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, to intervene in the threat to lives and property of Christians in Patani town, following alleged moves by the Amateri/Seigben religious cult devotees to coerce the Christian community to observe their period of silence. CAN, in a letter to the governor, said that there was “brewing tension in Patani town between the Christian community and the Amateri/ Seigben religious cult devotees occasioned by a letter of threat which is in total breach of our constitutional rights as Christians, written to us through the palace cultural committee of Kabowei Kingdom on March 27, 2014.” CAN, in the letter by the chapter’s Chairman, Rt. Rev Edafe Emamezi and others, alleged that in 2006, the faithful of the religious cult launched an attack on the churches in Patani, “especially the Anglican Church because of the same issue, which led to the damage of property worth millions of naira and bodily injuries of various degrees from machete cuts inflicted on our members. “We thought from your intervention in 2012, that the threat and attack on the churches in Patani town had ceased, but we are surprised that the palace cultural committee, with total disregard to the office of the governor, is again asking the churches to observe their period of silence in this period of Easter, which is very significant to the Christian faith. “We all know that all over the world, Christianity is the worship of God, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and asking the churches to remain silent this period of Easter amounts to telling the churches to close shop, because this is a season of celebration, especially the Palm Sunday procession that reminds us of Jesus’ royalty.”