Christmas: CAN urges security consciousness, Kukah decries killings

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The Christian Association of Nigeria has called on churches across the country to mark the Christmas season with hope, wisdom, and heightened security consciousness amid Nigeria’s lingering economic and security challenges.

This was as the  Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Rev. Matthew Hassan Kukah, decries killings and violence against children in the country.

In a Christmas message issued on Wednesday and signed by its President, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, CAN urged churches, particularly those in conflict-prone areas, to take practical steps to ensure the safety of worshippers.

“As we mark the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, I warmly extend Christmas greetings to Christians across Nigeria and to all people of goodwill,” Okoh said.

He encouraged Christian leaders and congregations to exercise vigilance and a deep sense of responsibility during worship, stressing that “the protection of human life is sacred and must remain paramount.”

Churches in areas with inadequate security presence were advised to consider holding services in safer locations or organising smaller gatherings that can be better protected.

“This counsel is offered in love and care, not in fear, as we are called to be wise stewards of the lives God has entrusted to us,” Okoh said.

In December 2023, gunmen killed over 140 Plateau State villagers in a Christmas Even attack.

Okoh, on Wednesday, appealed to security agencies to step up their presence around churches and other places of worship during the Christmas period, encouraging closer collaboration between religious bodies and law enforcement authorities to ensure peaceful celebrations.

He noted that the birth of Jesus Christ remains a reminder of God’s abiding love and the triumph of light over darkness, urging Christians to live out core values such as love, peace, patience, sacrifice, and compassion.

“Even in the face of economic difficulties and security concerns confronting our nation, the birth of Christ reassures us that God has not abandoned His people and that hope remains alive,” Okoh said.

The CAN president also called on Nigerians to remember those grieving, displaced, or affected by violence and hardship across the country, urging citizens to renew their commitment to peace, justice, and unity.

“United by our shared humanity and common destiny, we must renew our commitment to peaceful coexistence, mutual respect, and national cohesion, mindful that Nigeria is our only home,” he added.

Okoh concluded by praying for renewed faith, healing, and lasting peace for Nigeria in the coming year, wishing Christians and all Nigerians a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year.

In his own  Christmas message, Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese,  Kukah, delivered a sobering verdict on Nigeria’s state of affairs, describing the country as a “theatre of death” where violence, poverty, and moral collapse overshadow the joy of the season.

In his 2025 Christmas message titled “Joy and Hope in a Time of Tribulation,” Kukah said Nigeria’s persistent insecurity has turned the festive season into a period of anxiety, grief, and national reflection.

“Nigeria is stuck in a valley of violence and sorrow,” the bishop said, warning that citizens are being pushed to the brink by killings, kidnappings, and widespread fear.

Kukah accused the political elite of deepening the crisis through greed and selfish governance, insisting that scarcity is artificial.

“We may not have enough to feed the greed of our elite, but there is enough to feed our people,” he said, calling on leaders to urgently address hunger, inequality, and insecurity.

The bishop placed children at the centre of his message, lamenting the “ongoing crucifixion of innocence” in Nigeria, where schoolchildren have become easy targets for criminals. He recalled the abductions of the Chibok and Dapchi girls, as well as more recent cases in Maga and Papiri, noting that nearly 2,000 Nigerian children have suffered kidnapping, abuse, and exploitation.

“Our children are paying the highest price for our failures as a nation,” he said, warning that insecurity, early marriage, slavery, and sexual abuse are destroying Nigeria’s future.

Kukah stressed that the perpetrators of violence are products of systemic neglect, poverty, and miseducation, noting that northern Nigeria has become an epicentre of bloodshed due to high levels of illiteracy, disease, and unemployment. “We must either renovate, educate, or perish,” he said.

Rejecting calls for violent retaliation, Kukah urged Nigerians, especially Christians, to maintain moral restraint. “Violence cannot defeat violence,” he said, insisting that faith, prayer, and ethical leadership remain the most powerful tools against evil. He reminded believers that Christianity was born during persecution and has survived empires without resorting to arms.

Despite the grim assessment, Kukah expressed cautious hope, noting that Nigerians continue to mourn and endure together across religious and ethnic lines. He welcomed the safe return of abducted children, praising government and community efforts, while warning that the country cannot afford “one ordeal too many.”

He concluded by urging Nigerians not to reduce Christmas to mere festivity but to embrace it as a call to rebuild the nation through peace, justice, and reconciliation.

“Christmas is a vocation. Our duty is to make Christ visible through our lives. As Nigeria marks Christmas under the shadow of insecurity, this message stands as both an indictment of failed leadership and a call for national rebirth,” Kukah said.

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