Proscribe CAN, JNI- Catholic priest tells FG

A Catholic Priest, Reverend Father Gabriel Teruwose Ngbea has urged the federal government to ban the two main umbrella bodies of religious organization in the country.

The cleric urged the federal government to proscribe the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Jamatul Nasrul Islam (JNI) immediately.

The priest made this known in Abuja on Tuesday, September 26, at the public presentation of the book “Constitutional Misconception of Secularism: Implications for Politics and Religion”.

The book was authored by him. The Reverend father claimed such step would go a long way to stem the tide of religious crisis being instigated in the country.

Father Gabriel on page 302 of his book said that: “CAN and JNI should be proscribed because apart from their failed mandate of advancing religious interests that these bodies have constituted themselves into a political organization, often deployed to pursue political interests.”

He said the proscription of the two organizations would show adherence to Nigerian constitution which states that the country is a multi-religious state.

Going further, he also proposed the establishment of what he called Religious Equity Commission (REC) with a mandate to ensure that there is no discrimination among Nigerians on the basis of their faith, Nigerian Tribune reports.

“The establishment of an independent Religious Equity Commission whose mandate should be to ensure that there is no discrimination among Nigerians on basis of faith. CAN and JNI should be completely banned in the country.”