Insecurity: CAN declares three-day national mourning, seeks emergency security measures

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has declared a three-day national mourning period from June 12 to June 14 in honour of victims of killings, kidnappings and other violent attacks across the country.

CAN also designated June 14 as a nationwide “Black Sunday,” urging churches to hold special services in solidarity with families affected by the worsening security crisis.

The President of CAN, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, announced the decision on Tuesday in Abuja while presenting a communiqué issued at the end of the National Church Denominational Leaders Summit held at the National Christian Centre.

The summit, themed “The State of the Nation and the Way Forward,” brought together church leaders and delegates from across the country to review Nigeria’s security and governance challenges.

Expressing concern over the increasing wave of violence, Okoh cited recent attacks, kidnappings and community invasions in states including Oyo, Ogun, Borno, Kwara and Kogi.

He called on the federal government to declare a state of emergency on security, saying the country was facing an alarming level of bloodshed.

According to him, communities are under siege, travellers are being abducted on highways and farmers are being forced off their lands by criminal groups.

Okoh criticised what he described as the government’s recurring reliance on conciliatory rhetoric in response to serious security threats and urged authorities to adopt more decisive measures.

He advocated a comprehensive review of the nation’s security architecture, improved intelligence gathering, stronger collaboration among security agencies and the establishment of state police.

The CAN president also demanded the immediate release of all abducted citizens and called for compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement programmes for victims of terrorism and violence.