Bishop Mbayor Laments Persecution Of Christians In Northern Nigeria
The Oasis Reporters
April 18, 2018
By Moses Gbande
The National President of Arewa Pastors Forum For Peace (APFFP) Bishop Mbayor Japheth has said that the most persecuted and most vulnerable group of people under attack in the world today are the Northern Christian minority living in 19 northern states of Nigeria since the return of democracy .
Bishop Mbayor Japheth made the observation while addressing the Plateau State chapter of Arewa Pastors Forum For Peace (APFFP) during the inauguration of the state officials held at Usiju center, Apollo crescent in Jos, the state capital.
Bishop Japheth raised alarm over what the persecuted Christian faces in the Northern states of Nigeria were they are brutally murdered without provocation by the so called herders and Boko Haram insurgents who have continued to terrorize them.
According to him, the forum has a total of 300,000 membership strength across the 19 States in the north and it is a non profit, non political association which does not have any link with those in government and has called for all denominations across the states to foster unity amongst themselves so as to defeat the common enemies of the church.
Bishop Japheth stressed further that Nigerian Christians should stem the tide of disunity by coming together to foster peace in the north through the sensitization of the heads of various denominations and breaking barriers in order to achieve meaningful development .
“Our Pastors in the northern states of Nigeria should note that welfare is of paramount interest to us and that is the most important reason why we decided to establish the body in order to cater for the well-being of our pastor members, serving and retired who are going through hell in Nigeria”, he added.
He expressed dissatisfaction with the manner the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, go about leadership which he said does not provide purposeful, focused and strong leadership with CAN election being more bastardized like that of worldly political organizations.
Japheth urged the leadership of CAN in Nigeria to stop politics of denominational differences and embrace each other by bringing ideas that can build unity, love and understanding or else it will not achieve the main purpose of unity .
The Bishop further said that the Arewa Pastors for Peace is not a political party or a pressure group but an umbrella body with the sole aim of reinvigorating love to preach unity of oneness with the need to come together and stand to work for God in his vineyard without fear of molestation.
He noted that the body intends to pursue the dream of raising an army of men and women to showcase God’s faithfulness in working for spiritual revival. APFP urged believers to key into the ideals of the association because it is non-tribal and non-denominational, twin factors that are contrary to unity of oneness.
