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CAN President, Ayokunle under attack for allegedly “giving Buhari’s money” to Boko Haram victims

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BY: Justice Godfry

A coalition of over 500 Christian organisations in Nigeria have rejected what they described as “blood money given to the families of the victims killed by Boko Haram members and other insurgents” in the Northeast by the embattled President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Rev. Samson Supo Ayokunle.

The coalition argued that since the money may have been proceeds of what the CAN Presisent got from his regular visits to President Muhammadu Buhari and other politicians, they were rejecting it because the Presidency was not concerned over the killing and persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

The resolutions of the over 500 Christian groups was contained in a communique entitled “The CAN President: A Kingdom Personal Non-Grata! You are not welcome here!”, issued in Abuja on Friday after their emergency meeting held at the national secretariat of CAN.

The communique was signed by the President, Arewa Christians and Indigenous Pastors Association, ACIPA, Rev. Luke Shehu; President, Coalition of Christians Groups for Good Governance – Nigeria and Diaspora, COCGOG, Engr. Daniel Kadzai; President, Patriotic Christian Youths of Nigeria, PCYN, Evangelist Timothy Nasso; Spokesperson, Arise Christian Network, Pastor Joseph Zephaniah and President, Christian Youths Integrity Group, Godwin Yilpina.

The communique reads, “The blood of the believers killed in the North East are crying against the visit of Samson Supo Ayokunle. Please, we advise you to do the noble, this week like Judas whom you typified in the Church of Christ in Nigeria, lay down the money earned through conspiracy against the Christian faith and resign.

“You will do well, Sir, to let us know, if the CAN National Executive Council (NEC) or College of Bishops, met over your visit to make provision for funds which has enabled you to donate rice. Or is it a bread of affliction?

“Our people are determined not to partake in the licking of fingers dipped in the blood of our brethren. Money gotten from conspiracy against our faith is blood money and we will never be part of it. Tell us the value that commanded your congratulatory message, and resign now!”

They wondered why the CAN President would decide to visit the North East, North Central and North West, barely one month to the Presidential Election in CAN, describing it as political, but had refused to visit the family of Leah Sharibu who had been held in Boko Haram captivity for more than one year.

Leah Sharibu was one of the 110 female students of Government Girls’ Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State, who had been held in captivity since February 19, 2018 by Boko Haram terrorists on account of her Christian faith.

The coalition added, “It was a week like this that Judas kissed Jesus, have you (Ayokunle) come like Judas to kiss us in your desperation to remain in office? But Judas came to himself after he realised it was wrong for him to have sold Jesus for 30 shekels of silver. For how much was the christians in Nigeria sold?

“The President of CAN will need to clarify where the money he lavishly spent during his visit to the North East is coming from. Is it part of the reward of congratulating our persecutor (Buhari), the man under whose watch as the President, Christians are maimed, killed, livelihoods destroyed and are sacked from their homes?

“Today, the church has witnessed the highest number of Christians living in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps under the supervision of Rev. Samson Supo Ayokunle.

“There is a man who will forever be remembered by Christians for his treachery: He is Rev. Samson Supo Ayokunle, the President of CAN, the Judas Iscariot of our time. No wonder he chose to embark on tour across Northern Nigeria ahead of Easter.

“The CAN President has betrayed not only the Nigeria Christians but also believers all over the world who are praying for the persecuted Christians and deeply touched by heinous killings of Christians in Nigeria

“We are shocked! It was bad enough that the CAN President has battered our sacred institutions. CAN under his leadership is characterised by stinking corruption and terrible immorality amongst the officials. But the sad reality is that he has aligned himself with our tormentors just for money and relevance.

“It is almost unthinkable that the CAN President can embark on a campaign visit to the North East, one month to the expiration of his troublesome tenure in office. Where was he when Christians are being abducted on daily basis, maimed and brutally murdered in the North East: Adamawa, Borno, Yobe and North Central: Benue, Plateau, Taraba, Nasarawa and also Kaduna and Zamfara in the North West?

“While Christian organisations and leaders like ECWA, ACIPA, CNNC and others visited the parents of the abducted Dapchi school girl, Leah Sharibu to pray with and encourage them, the CAN President chose to look the side and was busy negotiating visits to Aso Rock.

“Why is he coming few days to National Elections of CAN, when he has failed woefully and refused to constitute the Electoral College one month to the election?

“It is imperative to mention the failure of Ayokunle, in uniting Nigerian Christians at the most desperate time of their needs. Also, his total disregard and disrespect for the denominational heads as spiritual leaders and Nigeria Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) is the most greatest disservice and dishonour to the body of Christ and ecclesiastical hierarchy in Nigeria.

“He is not welcome, because he has brought us down and caused so much embarrassment to the body of Christ over his corrupt behaviour. He is an ethnic bigot who has turned CAN into Yoruba and Baptist affairs. Whoever is in doubt should find out the people on his entourage each time he travels or go bootlicking in Aso villa. He must not contemplate contesting the election because he has failed his church, Baptist and the Church in Nigeria.”

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70% of Christians killed in 2024 are African – Group

ORJI ISRAEL reports that the group accused ANC of maintaining silence on religious persecution, while deepening ties with ideological extremists in Tehran

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70% of Christians killed in 2024 are African gettyimages
Women crying during killings in Benue State, Nigeria

Recent reports indicate that over 4,400 Christians were murdered for their faith last year, while over the past decade, jihadist violence has driven 16 million Christians from their homes, millions of which are African citizens.

This is according to global Christian charity, Open Doors, which also confirms that for every five Christians, one will face persecution in Africa specifically.

Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List reveals the top 10 most dangerous countries for Christians are dominated by Islamic states in the Middle East and Africa, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, and Nigeria. A more detailed UK Parliament briefing recently noted that 70% of Christians killed in 2024 were indeed in Africa. 

Over the last six months, the brutality against Christians in Africa has escalated to alarming levels, with a series of devastating attacks across the continent. Just last month, ISIL-affiliated rebels stormed a Catholic church in Komanda, DRC, murdering close to 50 worshippers, including women and children. That same month in Mozambique, Islamic State fighters captured and beheaded six Christians from Natocua village, just across South Africa’s border. A month earlier, in June 2025, armed militants in Nigeria massacred nearly 200 Christian civilians in Yelwata village. 

“What we are witnessing is not random violence or isolated attacks. It is a deliberate, coordinated campaign by jihadist networks to wipe Christianity from vast regions of Africa and the Middle East,” says SAFI spokesperson, Bafana Modise. “These acts of terror are the early stages of a genocide against Christians, and history will record who spoke out and who shamefully looked away. Tragically, the ANC has chosen the latter.”

This silence is even more damning in light of last week’s news that South Africa’s military chief, Gen. Rudzani Maphwanya, met with Iranian Maj. Gen. Amir Hatami in Tehran to discuss deepening military and strategic ties, when Iran remains one of the world’s most notorious persecutors of Christians.

A recent report by the Middle East Africa Research Institute (MEARI) warned that Pretoria’s deepening ties with Tehran has compromised South Africa’s democratic foundations by defending Iran at the UN and IAEA, downplaying its human rights abuses, and potentially benefitting from covert support, including speculation around the ANC’s repayment of a multi-million-rand debt shortly after filing the ICJ case against Israel.

“These atrocities are not just crimes against individuals; they are part of a war against the freedom of religion itself,” Modise warns. “This is religious genocide, and it is gaining momentum as it edges closer to South Africa’s borders.”

Instead of defending religious freedom, the ANC government has remained silent. It has issued no meaningful condemnation or rallying call to protect persecuted Christians: “The ANC has done nothing to defend the rights of Christians,” says Modise. “Instead, it has squandered South Africa’s moral standing on discredited genocide charges against Israel – the one country in the Middle East where Christians live in safety and equality.”

This betrayal is even more unforgivable in a nation where 80% of South Africans identify as Christian. Freedom of religion is a fundamental human right, but the ANC, once the global champion of human rights, has made its bed with regimes and groups that have used Islamic law to suppress and destroy those freedoms.

“The ANC’s alliances make it clear: they have abandoned South Africa’s Christians, choosing friendship with the very forces driving this campaign of genocide,” Modise concludes. “Silence in the face of such evil is complicity, and the ANC is guilty of both. They have aligned themselves with Jihadist Islamic ideology, without further thought.”

We call on every pastor, every congregation, and every believer to demand that the ANC account for its indifference and betrayal. The blood of persecuted Christians cries out from across the African continent. If South Africa will not stand with them now, the day may come when their fate becomes our own.

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Government Should Support Media with Tax Incentives, Relief on Import Duties – Soneye

….Media Sustainability: Soneye Advocates Tax Reliefs, Independent Fund for Journalism

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Femi Soneye
Femi Soneye

Former Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), Mr. Femi Soneye, has called on the Federal Government to support the Nigerian media with targeted incentives, including tax reliefs and import duty waivers on essential media tools.

Soneye made the appeal in Abuja on Tuesday after receiving the NUJ FCT Excellence in Corporate Communications Award, conferred on him by the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), FCT Council.

The NUJ leadership, led by Chairperson Grace Ike, alongside the Deputy Chair, Secretary-General, and other executives, described Soneye as a consummate professional who has distinguished himself with tact and excellence in the communications field.

In his remarks, Soneye noted that while the Nigerian media remains one of the most vibrant in Africa, it continues to grapple with systemic challenges that weaken its effectiveness.

“The Nigerian media remains one of the most vibrant in Africa, but it also faces systemic challenges, financial, political, legal, and technological that weaken its effectiveness. The government can play a supportive role by granting tax incentives or relief on import duties for newsprint, broadcast equipment, and digital infrastructure,” he said.

He also urged the Federal Government to establish an independent media development fund to support investigative journalism, community radio, and newsroom innovation, drawing parallels with models in South Africa, the United States, and Canada.

The award underscores Soneye’s long-standing contributions to journalism and corporate communications, as well as his advocacy for a stronger, independent, and sustainable Nigerian media.

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Lagos NIPR elects new executives

Reporter: Sandra Ani

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Members of the newly elected executive of Lagos State Chapter NIPR
Members of the newly elected executive of Lagos State Chapter NIPR

… GFD Executive Director emerges chapter Vice Chairperson* 

The Lagos State Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) has elected a new executive council at the close of its flagship Lagos PR Fest 2025, reinforcing its commitment to professionalism, innovation, and societal impact.

In elections supervised by NIPR Registrar, Chief Uzoma Onyegbadue, Samuel Ayetutu emerged as Chairman, while Eniola Mayowa was elected Vice Chairman in a closely contested race.

Other members of the executive include Secretary Samuel Adeyemi, Assistant Secretary Rita Ali-Nock, Public Relations Officer Ogochukwu Okeke, Financial Secretary Bassey Nta, Treasurer Olabamiji Adeleye, Welfare Officer Funmilola Akintola, and Ex-Officio Provost Marshal Quadri Adeleke.

In his acceptance remarks, Ayetutu pledged to drive professional standards, promote inclusiveness, and foster collaboration among members to enhance the chapter’s influence locally and nationally.

This year’s PR Fest, themed “Urban Farming for Food Security: The Role of Communication”, convened communication professionals, policymakers, and stakeholders to explore innovative strategies for tackling food security through effective public engagement.

Over the years, the Lagos PR Fest has evolved into a leading platform for advancing the role of public relations in societal development, with the 2025 edition underscoring the Institute’s mission to position communication as a driver of sustainable development in Nigeria.

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