Prophet Tells Jonathan Not To Swap Chibok Girls With Boko Haram Detainees
Prophet Ikechukwu Samuel, a renowned preacher and General Overseer of Shiloh Word Chapel (aka Faith Nations), has urged President Goodluck Jonathan not release any detained member of the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram in exchange for over 234 female students that were kidnapped from GGSS, Chibok, Borno State, on April 14.
The clergyman, who gave the warning in Abuja while speaking with the Punch ahead of the forthcoming third anniversary of the church, said: "It would be a costly and regrettable mistake", pointing out that if the president should give in to the demands of the sect, it would worsen the security challenges in the North East as well as that of the entire country.
Samuel, who noted that such move will be a stigma on the Federal Government, also supported the recommendation of the ongoing National Conference that religious organisations should pay taxes to government.
Related: REVEALED: Obasanjo Has A 5-Step Plan To Free Chibok Girls Without Firing A Single Shot
"Nobody is above the law, be it the church or mosque. Whether you are a leader in the mosque or church, it is only you that knows your mission and heart, but only God knows who is sincerely worshipping Him. So if you are really called by God, you must abide by the recommendation of the National Conference, whenever it becomes law, for religious organizations to pay taxes. Nobody knows the income of these organizations, except the leadership sets up a committee to cross-check the achievements. If the government finally takes the decision, everybody must be involved," he said.
The Cleric, however, urged Boko Haram members to have a change of heart and stop the killings in order to avoid God's anger, insisting that government would regret exchanging the abducted girls for Islamist detainees.
"If you release the girls in place of people that the law says should remain in detention as investigation goes on, the people have not changed their mindset, you have not changed their agreement, you have not changed their spirit, their heart and decisions. It will be a costly mistake, Jonathan and his government will regret it. If members of Boko Haram want to release the Chibok girls, it is a change of heart that will make them do so.
"Let Nigerians pray because this country is a nation with faith. Every citizen of Nigeria has faith, let us use our own faith, irrespective of our religious beliefs to ask our God to change their hearts. Boko Haram insurgents are still in the dark because they will still do more and we will keep exchanging. Yet, it will not solve the problem. Let our leaders and every citizen show love. Releasing people in places of evil will in turn increase the problem. It is not the solution, we should kneel down and pray for a change of heart," Ikechukwu said.
Related: CHIBOK: Boko Haram Release 4 Abducted Girls – Lawan
The prophet said instead of releasing the detained members, government should interrogate them to know what it is they really want, their annoyance as well as sponsors.
"The security agencies should ask them questions to know more about their activities, they should be interrogated to know about their emotional dialogue: why are you doing this? Why do you hate mankind? Who are your sponsors? What is your mission? What are your demands from the government for these killings to stop?"
He further revealed that the mission of his church since inception 2011, was to raise a generation that will change the land.
Meanwhile mixed reactions have trailed the swap deal that was offered by the Boko Haram sect. It would be recalled that the Federal Government initially wanted to go along with the offer following pressure from some Nigerians, especially the parents of the abducted girls who demanded the release of their daughters by any possible means, but later declined to go ahead with it.
Source: Legit.ng
