CAN, PFN say defending Christians’ right is priority

…But go to sleep where it matters most

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) have been all about defending the rights of Christians across Nigeria over the years.

Both bodies hold the social and political right to defend and promote the rights of Nigerians who profess Christianity.

However, the Christian bodies have been accused in the recent past of not doing enough to engage the government or defend the rights of Christians whenever the need arises.

The accusation gained more ground with the Supreme Court’s judgment confirming the death sentence of Sunday Jackson, a young Adamawa Christian on March 7, 2025.

Jackson was accused of killing a herdsman who attacked him on his farm in 2014, after he was able to overpower the herder to seize his weapon, before killing him with the same knife in self-defense.

Following the death of the herder, Jackson was sentenced to death by hanging by a high court in Yola in 2021.

However, following the Supreme Court’s confirmation of his death sentence, rights groups have called on both CAN and PFN to do more in defending Christians across the country. They also urged both organisations to engage the government more, especially on the rights of Nigerian Christians.

“CAN and PFN are limited in providing defense for Christians as the court should be the place to run to when there is injustice,” Femi Popoola, a former Baptist pastor said.

He said that across the world, the law makes provision for self-defense and that it will be unthinkable for the Nigerian judicial system to be different in this regard. He disclosed that if the Supreme Court’s ruling on Sunday Jackson stands – “the Nigerian state is using the instrumentality of the law to encourage the Fulani herders to oppress the rest of Nigerians.”

According to him, the implication of the ruling will also depict that the Nigerian government is in support of the persecution of the Christians, and that “one cannot get justice in Nigeria if one does not belong to a particular ethnic group or religion.”

Popoola said that there is need for Christians across the country to intensify prayers for the persecutors, the Nigerian state, the government and all its agencies; as it seems the Nigerian state has failed to administer justice in Jackson’s case.

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“In addition, CAN and PFN can resort to non-violent protests and advocacy for the attention of the international community. Lastly, the two Christian bodies can also take the matter to the courts outside the jurisdiction of Nigeria,” he said.

Chidi Anthony, national president of the Pentecostal Ministers Forum (PFM), said the recent Supreme Court’s ruling on Sunday Jackson raises more questions than answers. “The judicial system in this nation is like a coat of many colours.”

According to him, rulings from the Nigerian judiciary have been conflicting in many instances. He said that the judiciary is supposed to provide refuge for the oppressed among other things.

“So, you can’t understand the judicial system in this nation. We all believe that the judiciary is the hope of the common man. It’s where the poor will go and get justice.

“I don’t know when self-defense has been a very big crime in this nation,” Anthony said.

Godwin Ayebe, convener, Consumers Assembly, said it was within Sunday Jackson’s right to defend himself, especially in a life-threatening situation where his attacker intended to kill him. “The fact that he managed to seize the knife and protect his life should not be ignored.”

According to him, the recent ruling by the Supreme Court overlooks the natural right to self-defense in the face of imminent harm.

“The Supreme Court’s judgment, confirming his death sentence, is repugnant to justice, equity, and fairness.

“The decision fails to account for the circumstances of the attack and undermines the principles of justice that should guide such a case. The judgment seems to punish a victim for protecting his own life, which is deeply concerning,” Ayebe said.

Also speaking on a monitored programme on Arise TV, Emmanuel Ogebe said that sentencing Sunday Jackson to death is a miscarriage of justice that demands urgent attention.

“This is really a sad day for Nigerians and their rights to self-defence. Sunday Jackson was defending his life against an armed attacker.

“This is clearly a case of persecution. This is really a sad day for Nigerians and their rights to self-defence,” Ogebe said.

William Delvin, a US-based Human Rights Advocate, who also featured on the programme, said that human rights advocates across the world will now focus attention on Nigeria following the Supreme Court’s ruling on Sunday Jackson.

According to him, the Jackson issue is now an international case for human rights and “we are going to continue to advocate for him.”

On the international dimension, Devlin said that Open Doors, a human rights organisation, has recounted that there have been thousands of killings of Nigerian Christians by Fulanis. “So, as a human rights advocate and pastor, I am here to advocate for this man who was totally innocent.”

In 2015, Jackson, 29, farmer and student from Dong community in Demsa local government area of Adamawa State, was arrested and tried in Yola high court for culpable homicide punishable with death under Section 211 of the penal code.

He admitted that his attacker died as a result of the duel but he said he was not guilty of any offence, and the prosecution urged the trial judge, Fatima Ahmed Tafida, to convict Jackson based on his confessional statement.