Dapchi: CAN declares Good Friday as national day of prayers for Leah Sharibu’s release

The President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Rev Dr Samson Olasupo Ayokunle has declared Good Friday March 30, 2018 as a day when all churches in the country should pray for the freedom of Leah Sharibu from the captivity of Boko Haram terrorists.

Leah was abducted alongside other now-freed girls from their school in Dapchi on February 19.

It had been reported that the father of one of the abducted girls, Sheribu Nathan, had disclosed that his daughter, Leah Sheribu was not released by Boko Haram terrorists because she refused to abandon her Christian faith for Islam.

The CAN President, in a statement issued on Wednesday by his special assistant, Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, said prayers for Leah become necessary since Christians are in a “Passion Week’ when, according to him, Jesus, out of passion, willingly submitted himself to be nailed to the cross to pay for the sins of the world, once and for all.

He said in the Week of Passion, “Jesus, though sinless, was scourged by the Roman soldiers, was forced to carry His Cross through the streets of Jerusalem along what is known as the way of sorrows. Jesus was then crucified at Golgotha on the day before the Sabbath, buried and remained in the tomb until Sunday, the day after the Sabbath, after which he gloriously resurrected.”

The CAN president stated that “the Passion Week represented a period when Jesus Christ truly revealed His passion for mankind through the sufferings He went on their behalf,” adding that Christians should emulate Jesus and what he stood for in Passion Week.

According to him, “We should be passionate in our worship of Jesus and in our proclamation of His Gospel! As He suffered for us, so should we be willing to suffer for the cause of following Him and proclaiming the message of His death and resurrection.

“It is against this background that the leadership of CAN is calling on every Christian nation-wide to stand in the gap for that innocent girl, Leah Sharibu, at 12 noon on Good Friday, asking God to send His Angels to deliver her from the captivity as He did for Apostle Peter who was jailed unjustly.

“CAN is also reminding the Federal Government and the security agencies of the need to free Leah and other captives from the captivity of the Boko Haram terrorists. It is high time our security operatives lived up to the expectations of the people. They should stop the spate of abductions of innocent citizens by a terrorist as well as killings by Fulani herdsmen across the country while mounting adequate security for citizens of the country”.

CAN, however, called on all Christians across the country to use the Passion Week to pray for Nigeria to be free from all forces of darkness, including prayers for those who had lost their relations or property during the recent terror and herdsmen attacks.