The Catholic Archbishop of Kaduna, Most Rev Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso on Friday visited the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital (BDTH) to condole and sympathize with victims of bomb blast of Tudun Biri in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State by Nigeria Army.
Archbishop Ndagoso, who led the delegation of the Catholic Priests and other parishioners, explained that it is part of the church teachings to identify with people who are in distress.
“We felt that it is good for us as a church/ faith community to come and identify with those affected, many have died and we pray for them. We have what we call corporal works of mercy, those charities are encouraged to do especially for people who are in distress situations and therefore that was why we came to visit our brothers and sisters who are in distress,” he said.
The Catholic Archbishop disclosed that Nigeria is at war with insurgency, banditry attacks, arm robbery and hunger.
He said, “To a very large extent our country is at war in the last 14 years, we know what happened in the north-east yet even in the northeast we are not out of the woods and from north-east and now north-west, in the last few years we have had real war here in Kaduna.
“Over 40 of our parishes closed down, they are not functioning because the priests had to relocate and the community members had to relocate because of banditry attacks, it is truly a war situation.
“Nigerians are not living their normal lives, banditry insurgency, arm robbery and everything that is associated with war situations is present in our country today and therefore we are at war in this country.
“It was because we are at war that the military were trying to perform their duties that led to the mishap”.
Ndagoso therefore tasked the military on proper intelligence gathering before carrying out any operation.
He said, “The military has to improve more in the areas of intelligence gathering, let them collect, sift and in doubt don’t act, if you are not 100 percent sure do not act”.
The Archbishop presented relief materials worth hundreds of thousands to the victims of the bomb blast.
Responding, the Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee, Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital, Dr. Shu’aibu Musa expressed satisfaction at the visits by Christian communities.
“So many pastors have come to see the victims, I am impressed with the visits and sympathy from Christian communities and we urged them to keep it up “.
The Archbishop Ndagoso was accompanied by the Kaduna State Coordinator, Justice Development and Peace Caritas, Rev Fr. Joshua Achir, the director social communication, Catholic archdiocese, Rev Fr. Stephen Onyema and so many other priests and parishioners.
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