The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has urged the Bola Tinubu-led federal government to go after the #IgboMustGo campaigners in Lagos.
Pro-government social media handles had started the campaign on X days before the nationwide protests.
The lead campaigner @Lagospedia has since deleted his account, but his details have been shared online, but security agents have refused to arrest him.
The Anglican Bishops who met in Abuja on Tuesday, condemned the campaign and urged President Tinubu to take concrete actions to address the issue.
“Mere condemnation of xenophobia without holding the purveyors, some of whom are known, to account, belies the seriousness of government readiness to combat such odious incitements,” they said.
The Bishops also condemned the Federal Government’s handling of the recent protests, calling for an immediate end to hunger and bad governance in the country.
They also condemned the killing of protesters by security agents and called for the training and retraining of security forces.
In a statement issued at the end of the House of Bishops meeting by the Primate and Metropolitan of the Church, the Most Rev’d Dr. Henry C. Ndukuba, and the Rt. Rev’d Dr. Williams Aladekugbe, Episcopal Secretary, the Bishops said: “The protest is a clarion call to governments at all levels, especially the federal, to heed the cry of the people, and not scapegoat anyone as no government can legislate or stop people who are hungry from protesting.
“We strongly condemn the killing of some protesters by the security agents and call for the training and retraining of our security forces on the acceptable standards of engagement in matters like this.
“We urge the government to quickly sit down, seriously discuss the demands of the protesters, and come out with immediate, short-term, and long-term measures to ameliorate the sufferings of Nigerians.”
The Bishops further expressed concern over the rising cases of kidnapping and banditry and urged the government to take decisive action to ensure security and food security in the country.
They also commended the recent Supreme Court judgment granting autonomy to local government areas and called for effective implementation.
