James Bwala in Damaturu, Yobe State, reports that the state government, in its reaction to the exodus of Christians and non-indigenes from the state following the massacre by members of the Boko Haram sect, has assured Christians, non-indigenes as well as indigenes of its resolve to stem criminal activities and ensure safety of lives and properties.YOBE State governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Geidam, has called on Christians in the state to remain calm as his government is doing everything possible to ensure return to normalcy in the state. The governor also called on the general public to support peaceful initiatives in the state as it is the only way meaningful development can be achieved in the face of the security challenges confronting the state and the nation in general. The governor assured those who felt the state was no longer safe that the government would continue to partner the security agencies in the effort to restore peace and ensure the security of people's lives and properties.He said the arrangement to ensure safety of lives and properties in the state was government's move to provide security agencies with logistics and other supports such as tricycles as palliative measures to reduce the hardship experienced by commuters following the ban on the use of motorcycles in some parts of the state.'It is unfortunate that in the past few days, some mischief makers have been circulating text messages claiming that 'Damaturu was boiling' and that churches were being set ablaze. These text messages are false and are clearly designed to complicate the situation at a time that the government and the Christian and Muslim communities in the state are engaged in various efforts and prayers to God Almighty to deliver us from the crises.'Governor Ibrahim Geidam, the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Yobe State Chapter, Rev. Idi Garba and the State Commissioner of Police, Lawal Tanko, who featured on a joint NTA Damaturu programme on January 14th, 2012, asked people to discountenance those false text messages.While assuring the people of the state in general and the Christian community in particular, Geidam said that government and security agencies would not rest on their oars to ensure that normalcy returned to the state and that people's lives and properties were protected, he also urged people to discountenance rumours making the rounds and join hands together in prayers in the effort to ensure that peace and security prevailed in the state.It would be recalled that hundreds of people, including Christians and non-indigenes have fled Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, owing to rumour that some group of people were planning to attack them in their homes.According to reports, one Mallam Musa Audu, a resident of Pompomari ward in Damaturu, claimedthat at about 4:15a.m. on Monday, January 16th, 2012; three young men, armed with AK47 rifles forced themselves into his house; though they did not kill anyone, they asked them to leave town first thing in the morning; warning that they were coming back and that if they met him or any of his family members, they would kill them.Mallam Audu told newsmen that he was moving his family to Taraba State as many of his Christian faithful had fled to Jos and Nassarawa states. 'Taraba is at least a Christian state, although I am not a citizen, I hope to find peace and bring up my children in an environment where I would be appreciated. You know sometimes you have to take a painful decision in exchange for your life. I am a civil servant, so is my wife; but when you see death and you were warned; I think only a fool can think of staying back. Immediately these young men left, I called my elder sister, who is married in Taraba and she asked us to come over,' Musa Audu explained.Also at about that time, it was reported that some young men believed to be Christians were gunned down by suspected members of the Boko Haram sect at about 8:00 am. Confirming the incident, the Police said they were aware of the killing of three Chadians in Damaturu by gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram. The Commissioner of Police, Tanko Lawan, said the three foreigners, who did menial jobs in the state, were killed by unidentified gunmen who attacked them in Pompomari quarters of the state capital."Three persons were killed this morning by unknown gunmen at Pompomari area of Damaturu and after our investigations, we found out that the three were Chadians, working as labourers", said CP Tanko.A resident of Jerusalem ward in Damaturu, Mr Marcus Duniya, who claimed to have been living in Yobe State for over 30 years, told Nigerian Tribune that the security situation in the state was a thing of concern, because people were fleeing the state, owing to threats. He said many churches had closed down as both indigenes and non-indigenes had deserted them.'Look at the streets, everywhere is empty. I know that over 200 people have fled Damaturu, in my church; the pastor left without even informing us, we learnt that he fled to Jos and we confirmed. We are still communicating with him, and from what he is saying, it is like he may not come back to the state,' he said.Speaking on the crisis since it began on November 4, 2011, Duniya said, 'after the 4th November incident, they attacked Geidam town where they burnt five churches and many shops belonging to Christians However, the good thing is that there is no loss of life. Fourteen churches were burnt in Damaturu; five vehicles were burnt at Gadaka ECWA Church at Gadaka village. At Potiskum, which used to be the largest concentration of Christians and churches in Yobe, recently, two churches were burnt and 12 shops in front of St. Peter's Anglican Church were burnt by some Muslim youths. Also one upstairs belonging to an indigene of Potiskum, a medical doctor living in Ghana, was burnt simply because the man is a Christian even though he is not living in Potiskum and was not even in Nigeria when his property was attacked. Three people were killed last week in Anguwar Dorowa after the killing of four Igbos at Texaco Filing Station.'He explained that despite the assurance by government, people were still fleeing town because there were rumours that they (Boko Haram) threatened to go from house to house, searching for Christians and non-indigenes to kill. 'They even started killing people, because just this morning, two people were killed at Pompomari ward while three were shot; they are currently receiving treatment in the hospital. On Saturday night, they entered into a house at Naya-nawa area here in Damaturu and killed two people, they entered Pompomari and threatened people in their house but were rescued by God's mercies. Looking at all these, Christians and non-indigenes have to flee.'Mr Marcus, however, said that only two churches; ECWA Hausa and ECWA Good News Church held services on Sunday, January 15th, 2012 out of over 30 churches within the capital, Damaturu. According to him, in Potassium, they were made to understand that only one Church out of over 40 churches held service on Sunday. He said 21 churches were burnt earlier, and there was no assurance of safety from government, which was why people were still sceptical about the message government was trying to convey to the people, particularly Christians and non- indigenes in the state.'They (government) have done only little in the past; as such nobody believes they could do anything now, because there was no compensation or assistance to Christians and non-indigenes here in Yobe. In fact, they have not called on the Christian community in the state to commiserate with them until now. The governor has not visited any church or Christian community or non-indigene since the beginning of the crises, a situation that further made many people to be scared of staying in the state.'Speaking during the launching of the distribution of the tricycles (Keke NAPEP), which is tagged 'Bra-Bra Mungode,' the Yobe State governor, Alhaji Geidam, while addressing the gathering said that, it was not in the interest of government to inflict suffering on the citizens by announcing the ban on the use of motorcycle, popularly called 'Achaba', but that government took the painful decision in the interest of peace and to safe guard the lives and properties of the citizenry, who are attacked by fanatics, who use motorcycles to gun down people they have no right to kill in whatever name, as no religion permits such unholy act.Geidam said those killing innocent people were not true Muslims, and therefore, wondered if the Boko Haram sect were acting as political assailants, criminals or religious fanatics. He, however, said that while some people were of the view that government was rather relaxed on the issue of insecurity in the state; he wanted to assure that, government feared no individual or group but that government had carefully studied the modus operandi of the so called sect in the state and was acting to ensure the safety of lives and properties of its citizens.The governor asked the people not to be afraid, but rather, return to their legitimate places of living and business as it was the government's duty to ensure that they were protected and his government knew its responsibilities to the people as he was also accountable to God if he failed to treat all citizens equally.
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