The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has called for cessation of violence and all manners of bloodshed in Nigeria, in the spirit of Easter.

President of the Conference, Lucius Ugorji, made the call in an Easter message to Nigerians on Friday in Abuja. Mr Ugorji said that the message of peace was necessary, especially in times like these when the nation was experiencing challenges.

“Peace can be promoted when citizens recognise that poverty, religious and ethnic bigotry, human rights abuse, corruption, lack of inclusiveness and poor governance were the root causes of tension, strife and violent conflicts.

“Together we need to muster the political will to drastically reduce these social ills in our nation.

“Peace can be fostered when we value the sanctity of human life, cherish our common brotherhood and shun the spilling of innocent blood, knowing that they are outrageous.

“We should keep in mind that true peace begins from within oneself, where we can find inner peace with God and with our conscience.

“We should all cultivate inner peace for social peace to thrive in our nation.

“Inner peace and tranquility facilitate peaceful cohabitation in the family, community and nation, in contrast, when anger, hatred, envy, bigotry, wickedness and greed erect their empires in our hearts, there cannot be social peace.’’

Mr Ugorji also encouraged Nigerians and those seeking electoral offices to embrace the spirit of sportsmanship and not to see a political contest as a do-or-die affair as elections drew near.

He urged citizens to make personal commitment to non-violence because violence would only breed more violence.

He said that the vicious cycle of violence resulted in utter destruction and would never be a solution to any human problem.

“On behalf of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, I wish you a happy Easter. May the risen Christ, the Prince of Peace, give peace to our nation.”

(NAN)