Slain catholic priests: Onaiyekan cautions against anarchy
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this is our hope which is based on our trust in god the cardinal said1 john cardinal onayikan the cardinal of the abuja catholic diocese has called on nigerians to rise above religious political and ethnic divides to save the country from drifting into anarchy1 he said the killings across the country must stop and called on well meaning nigerians to unite in fighting the great evil that had befallen the country1 the cleric warned this must not be politicized. the nation is in a state of emergency. we demand for synergy division especially on tribal lines will only throw our nation to anarchy1 he called on the federal government to act decisively to end the spate of killings across the country1 the cardinal called on the people to be vigilant and be your brothers keeper1 he warned that if murderers were allowed to continue killing without checkmating them it will come to a time when people will begin to use other means of self defense1 onaiyikan called for forgiveness and warned against reprisals and said the souls of the righteous were in the hands of god1 he appealed for calm and advised the christian faithful to show appreciation to god in all situations1 onaiyekan handed down the advice on tuesday during a sermon for the burial of two catholic priests rev frs. felix tyolaha and joseph gor at ayati a small agrarian hilly village in the outskirts of ikpayongo in gwer east local government council of the state1 he described the death of the priests and the others as a horrific massacre which will not be forgotten for a long time1 the cardinal said the killed priests and their worshippers were martyrs of the church1 earlier the bishop of makurdi diocese most rev. wilfred anagbe said the decision to bury the victims of saint ignatius parish mbalom at the se sugh maria pilgrimage centre ayati was to honor them as martyrs of the church1 he said the barbaric acts perpetrated against the victims would attract the wrath of god and lamented the act of desecrating the church of god1 if our places of worship are no longer safe then where can we run to in this country anagbe said1 he expressed optimism that their blood would restore peace and end the killings in the state and across the country1 sympathizers mostly catholics dressed in their societal attires besieged the ayati prayer ground as early as 7a.m to secure seats for the historic event1 security around the burial site was tight as only identified dignitaries apart from the clergy were allowed entry1