Borno: CAN urges Shettima to revisit compensation of Boko Haram victims
The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, has called on the Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima to revisit the issues of compensation for Christians in the state.
CAN Chairman, Reverend Titus Pona said, “Borno state is the home of peace, and that was the experience here until the last few years, when that testimony changed.
“The violent attacks on Christians, their places of worship, business premises and government installations and in the recent past, without regard to creed or ethnicity, the 
Boko Haram maimed and killed with reckless abandon, we must not stop praying for the peace of Borno State”.
The CAN chairman who was speaking at the weekend during the opening of CAN Centre in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital added that, “We have seen how promptly the governor responded and commiserated with the victims of the insurgency in all parts of the state.
“In most of the places he visited, you could see how his heart moved with sympathy towards the affected community. It was exemplary. We equally appreciate the efforts of the security agencies – the Joint Task Force (JTF) in particular.
“We commend and salute your courage in fighting what looks like a ‘Gorilla Warfare’, and also of the teeming youths who volunteered to give a helping hand, we commend this initiative”.
He, however, said that the Christian Association of Nigeria and the Christian community in Borno State want government to keep faith with its promises to Christian community when 58 churches were either in part or completely destroyed in 2006.
According to him, government publicly announced that it would compensate the victims of that attack.
“A committee was set up headed by the then SSG (Ambassador Baba Ahmed Jidda), who incidentally is also the current SSG. Reports were submitted, but nothing was done till date.
“We request that the issue be revisited again in the spirit of equity and justice. So also, the victims of the insurgency, a few have received part of what the government set out to give them, but perhaps those who benefitted were less than a quarter of the total number of those affected”.
Speaking on the issue of the rights and priviledges of the Christian community in Borno, Rev. Pona said that one issue that would always show itself again was the yearning and aspiration of the Christian community to be taught Christian Religious Knowledge in the public schools within Borno State.
“We are equally calling on the governor to use his good office and intervene in this situation in the spirit of fairness and justice to the issue of BRTV not airing a single second of Christian programme. This is a TV station that is financed by tax payers, which include the Christian community within the state”, he said.
Speaking during the occasion, Governor, Kashim Shettimda, who was represented by the Commissioner for Special Duties, Hon. Ishaku Joshua Sharah said he was excited that despite the situation the state was faced with, the Christian community could come together to organize such an occasion which to him, was a pointer that the emerging peace in Borno State was real.
The Governor, who also appreciated the position of the Christian community on the rumour of demolition of churches called on Christians to remain steadfast and continue to pray for total return of peace in the state.
