President of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Bishop Francis Wale Oke, on Thursday, condemned killings in Edo State and other parts of the country, saying all perpetrators of the killings must be punished.
It would be recalled that 16 travelers were killed in Uromi, Edo State by members of the Vigilante Group a couple of days ago.
Wale Oke, who called for fairness and justice in killings in Edo, and other states, emphasised that urgent and critical steps must be taken to stop killings in the country.
The PFN president made the call while addressing journalists at the Cornerstone City, Lagos-Ibadan expressway, Ibadan.
The PFN president said: ” PFN condemns the killings that took place in Edo State where people were mistaken to be kidnappers and were attacked. We condemn the killing in a categorical term. It was uncalled for.
“Every Nigerian should be able to move freely in any part of the nation. In that wise, the killing of whoever did it, is condemnable and PFN is joining others in Nigeria to condemn it.
”And we urge Governor Monday Okpebholo and Governor Abba Yusuf to cooperate and fish out the perpetrators to serve as a deterrent to other people. Lives are sacred. And people, no matter from which part of the nation they come from, should be able to move freely anywhere in Nigeria. We pray the Lord will give them wisdom.
“I want to urge Governor Yusuf and Governor Okpebholo to cooperate to make sure that there is no reprisal attack, no escalation, and no killing in any part of the nation. The evil had been done. And two evils don’t make a right. So, there shouldn’t be retaliation.”
The PFN president said the same fervor with which the killing in Edo State was condemned and with which the criminals were being hunted should be applied in other parts of the country where killings happened.
“The same fervor in Edo State should be applied in other states where killings are happening like Benue, Plateau, Taraba, Ondo, and Ekiti States as well as the Southeast,” he said.
He, therefore, called for the establishment of state police to curb insecurity, saying vigilantes should not be the ones providing security.
The PFN president also lauded Tinubu for providing pragmatic leadership for the country and wished him a happy birthday.
He said: “So far, so good, the president has been doing exceptionally well. He met so many challenges and messes on the ground. He has to clean up security, economic, political, and educational messes. He has been doing quite a good job. And we’re thankful to go for him. He’s a courageous and pragmatic man.
“He is an astute strategic politician. we are praying for him that the Lord will continue to stand by him, to help him to lead Nigeria into greater heights.
”So, Mr. President, on behalf of over 86 million Pentecostals in Nigeria and across the Diaspora, we wish you a happy birthday. And we want to thank you for sending us a congratulatory message when we emerged for the second time as the National President.”
