Judex Okoro, Calabar

The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has kicked against the Yola High Court ruling sentencing five Christians to death for allegedly killing a herdsman.

Besides, the PFN has flayed the discreet but planned moves to include Arabic Language as one of the GSS courses in Nigeria higher institutions of learning.

The PFN leadership maintained that such an attempt to smuggle Arabic into school curriculum and the court judgement is capable of causing further religious conflagration that could lead to break down of law and order in this auspicious time of or national development.

In an interview with news in Calabar yesterday while reacting to the development, the National Publicity of PFN, Bishop Emmah Isong, said the leadership of PFN at all levels vehemently oppose some of these policies that tend to divide Nigerians along religious lines rather than uniting the people.

Isong, who doubles as the t President of Christian Central Chapel International, Calabar, said though they are not supporting criminality in any form, but there must seem to be justice done whenever there is a clash between Christians and Muslims.

He said it sounded ridiculous that even when no herdsman has been arrested, prosecuted and condemned to death by any court in Nigeria for killing thousands of Christians in Benue, Taraba, Nassarawa and Kogi states, in Yola, Christians were being sentenced to death.

According to him, “It looks as if it is vengeance for a Yola Court to condemn five Christians to death for allegedly killing herdsman when herdsmen are rampaging everywhere killing and maiming innocent Christians and going free.

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“Though we are not backing anybody to commit crime, we rather feel that justice must seem to have been done in the case of the five Yola people. Then entire leadership of PFN protest totally against the judgment and call for appeal to squash it.

“It is high time the federal government had intervened and to ensure that those Christians are not killed to forestall further religious conflict within that axis. Instead of killing people for herdsmen, federal government should rather find a way to curtail their activities and provide adequate security to all Nigerians, which the present administration promised on ascension to power in 2015.”

On the move to smuggle in Arabic language into higher school curriculum, he said: “We in PFN under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Felix Omobude seriously frowns at the new development of by National University Commission, NUC, and other relevant government authorities of attempting to include Arabic Language as prerequisite for admission or one of GSS courses in higher institution of learning because we recognise English as Lingual Franca of Nigeria as a federation and not Arabic.

“Therefore, the inclusion of the Arabic language through the back door must be resisted by all and sundry in the country. We are through this medium protesting heavily on behalf of the about 80 million Pentecostals Nigerians. We are speaking against this development from all zones of North, West and East.

“We are very far from Arab nations, we are rather close to French speaking countries so why Arab now which does not benefit anybody except those who have religious motives? We have written several letters to federal government and demand that agencies behind such nefarious moves should be called to order so we don’t run into chaotic situation,” the spokesperson stated.

Also lashing out at police authourities for bringing Arabic language as one of the subjects for police recruitment examination, he said: “We equally kick against it in all ramifications because they were no Arabic citizen that took that exam except Nigerians.

“It was taken by both Christians and Muslims. We therefore call on the exam board and police authoturities to cancel that exam as it is discriminatory against the Christians. It is highly resistible.