BY DAYO ADESULU
Rev Alfred Adewale Martins, the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos State has decried the gruesome killing of Mr Michael Nnadi, a seminarian of The Good Shepherd Major Seminary, Kaduna by gunmen in Kaduna.
One of those seminarians in the above photograph has been killed by his captors after three of them were released last week.
He cautioned that if caution was not taken by the Federal Government to curb this dastardly trend, the nation might be headed for anarchy.
Martins said: “I received with great sadness the news of the murder of the fourth seminarian, 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.”
Michael Nnadi, 18, a seminarian was abducted alongside three other seminarians of The Good Shepherd Major Seminary, Kaduna by gunmen recently. The other three seminarians were released last week while Nnadi was killed.
READ ALSO: Kidnapped 3 GSCMS Seminarians Regain Freedom
Speaking in a release signed by the Director of Social Communications, Rev. Fr. Anthony Godonu, the archbishop said the gruesome murder of the innocent young man was yet another failure of the present security arrangement of the Federal Government.
Martins cautioned that the persistent cases of inability of the Federal Government to safeguard the lives of innocent Nigerians was capable of breeding a state of anarchy in the land.
He added that Nigerians cannot just fold their hands and watch themselves slaughtered like animals.
READ ALSO: Gunmen Kidnap 4 Catholic Seminary Students In Kaduna
Archbishop Martins said it was high 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.
His statement: “I received with great sadness the news of the murder of the fourth seminarian, 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 several cases of innocent Nigerians being killed on a daily basis by gunmen 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 11 innocent people by so-called ISWAP and the execution of the two students returning to their studies in Maiduguri.
“We have also had situations 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 monstrous activities to continue to thrive.
”The consequences of the dastardly acts on the psyche of Nigerians can only be imagined.
“For a while now, many Nigerians from different walks of life have been calling 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 re-examined 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 taken more seriously.’ Archbishop Martins, while warning that no group of people should be allowed to continue to operate outside the law said that the kid’s glove approach being utilized by the security agencies in addressing insecurity in the land was not yielding the desired result.
”The only way the Federal Government can reassure the people 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.”
