following the recent attacks on some villagers by a sect in Jos Plateau State, in which several people died, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has called on President Jonathan to allow every Nigerian to carry arms for self-protection.
The national president of CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, made the call through a statement, a copy of which was made available to the Nigerian Tribune on Monday.


He said “we urge the president, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to stop the orgy of ethnic cleansing or accede to recent calls for all Nigerians to carry arms.”
Stating that the killing of innocent villagers could not assuage electoral disadvantages, Oritsejafor added that if the president could no longer guarantee the safety of life and property of Nigerians, in accordance with the oath he took, then the National Assembly should immediately enact a law that would make every Nigerian to carry arms for their own protection.
“As a nation, we cannot continue like this. There has to be a genuine demonstration of commitment to the collective development of the country, through honesty of purpose. The current orgy of violent ethnic crises has continued unabated for several days, just a few days after the president had identified the people behind the growing spate of terrorism in the country,” the statement said.
Worried by the new dimension the crises had assumed in recent times, which had led to the killing of over 52 persons, including pregnant women and children within 10 days, the CAN president called on President  Jonathan to reassure Nigerians that he had the capacity to guarantee their safety in any part of the nation, by urgently halting what he called the madness taking place in parts of Plateau State.