By Bashir Mohammed
Kano
A Jos-based Christian cleric, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama, has said that the forces of evil were being responsible for the massacre of innocent people in Jos, the Plateau state capital.
Speaking in an interview with the BBC English Service monitored in Kano, Kaigama said the issue of heaping blames or pointing fingers at Christians or Muslims “does not arise,” adding that it was the handiwork of the forces of evil taking solace in shedding the blood of innocent people with impunity.
He said no responsible Muslim or Christian would ever carry out such a dastardly atrocity in a sprawling business market or elsewhere, stressing that terrorists were only willing to polarise the relative peace that had prevailed in recent times.
He said: “For over some months now, we have been enjoying some semblance of peace without any act of terrorism being carried out. Christians and Muslims have understood one another only that some evil forces are busy working round the clock to destabilise it.”
He described the Jos bombing as “an apocalyptic tragedy,” stressing the need for Muslims and Christians to put heads together to checkmate the forces of terror, “whose mission is to wage a campaign of annihilation.”
“It is our responsibility to put our heads together, Muslims and Christians, people of different ethnic affiliations to find a lasting solution.”
He praised the resilience and maturity exhibited by youth in the aftermath of the carnage, saying that without the efforts of security agents in calming frayed nerves, the volatile situation could have escalated further.
