From Fred Ezeh, Okwe Obi, Abuja, Abuja, Noah Ebije, Kaduna, Gyang Bere, Jos
Tension and fears of possible breakdown of law and order have gripped Maiduguri, Borno State, following reported attempt on the life of a lady alleged to have blasphemed Islam.
The lady identified as Naomi Gomi is alleged to have committed blasphemy with her comment on a trending post on Facebook in reaction to the lynching of Deborah Samuel, a 200-level student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto (SSCOE), who was burnt to death by alleged Islamic extremists last week
Her comment triggered sharp reactions as someone volunteered the lady’s location and house with a warning to get her. The threat by some people to give her Deborah treatment made security agents to evacuate her and her family late Saturday. Security agencies were subsequently placed on red alert as the police and other sister agencies were seen patrolling the streets of Maiduguri to nip any uprising in the bud.
Meanwhile, outrage and condemnation have continued to trail the lynching of Deborah. While the Northern Governors Forum condemned the act of self-help as exhibited by the mob saying it could threaten law, order, general peace and security of the society, popular Kaduna-based Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, told those that participated in the act that they would not make paradise.
Also, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) from 19 Northern states and Abuja, conglomerates of Fellowship of Churches of Christ in Nigeria, known as Tarayyar Ekklesiyoyin Kristi a Nijeria (TEKAN), Catholic Laity Council of Nigeria, and Are Onakankafo of Yorubaland, Otunba Gani Adams, yesterday, joined in condemning Deborah’s killing, describing it as an evil act.This is as the Sokoto State Government announced the suspension of the resumption of basic and secondary schools in the state by one week. The schools were initially scheduled to resume yesterday and today for boarding and day students. Also, corps members serving, especially those in the Sokoto metropolis, have been advised to remain at home due to the 24-hour curfew. This was contained in another statement from the spokesperson of the scheme in Sokoto State, Malam Sani Idris.
Chairman, Northern Governors Forum and Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong in a statement said the governors were concerned about the development which is clearly an extra-judicial measure of addressing perceived infraction.
Lalong said any attempt to adopt self-help in addressing grievances whether religious or otherwise, would only lead to further chaos that could threaten law, order, general peace and security of the society.
While commiserating with the family of the victim, Lalong said Northern governors want security agencies to be allowed to thoroughly investigate the matter and ensure that the law took its full course on anyone found wanting.
The governors also appealed for calm following reports of the hijack of a peaceful protest which later turned violent and led to the imposition of a curfew in Sokoto metropolis.
Sheikh Gumi, in one of his preachings at Sultan Bello Mosque in Kaduna, said any Muslim who kills a Christian in Nigeria because the prophet was allegedly insulted would not smell paradise.
He said Nigeria was not an Islamic State and that Muslims in the country have agreement with people of other faiths to live together peacefully and that anyone who kills them on religious guise has committed a grievous sin.
The Islamic scholar said it was unfortunate that some Muslim clerics were quoting verses they do not understand and telling people to kill whoever insults their religion.
Quoting some Quranic verses and jurisprudence, the cleric said Killing a non-Muslim under the guise that the person uttered a blasphemous statement against Prophet Muhammad is not an excuse, “because Allah has told us in the Qur’an that the non-Muslims will insult Allah and His Prophet. In fact, it is now that the blasphemy will start after the killing of that lady in Sokoto, the insult will increase, not reduce.”
Gumi said some Muslims of Nigeria that want to defend Prophet Muhammad should be ashamed of themselves because they are corrupt, adding that the best way to go if we want to defend the Prophet is to follow his teachings.
Regardless, CAN from 19 Northern states and Abuja have demanded that all christian leaders terminate their participation in Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), until their counterparts in Islamic faith show commitment to tame their followers on equal terms.
Its spokesperson, Jechonia Gilbert, in a statement condemned what it termed gruesome and barbaric murder of Deborah Samuel by some religious extremists. The organisation said Nigeria is a country governed by the rule of law and order, hence any act of lawlessness and criminality must not be swept under the carpet. It also discouraged Christian parents across the nation especially, Northern states from sending their children to any school in Sokoto State, pending when the federal and state governments would be willing to secure the lives of students both in Sokoto and other states that are hostile to Christians and Christianity.
CAN also called on the Federal and Sokoto State government not to resort to usual rhetorics but demonstrate political will and capacity to bring the perpetrators of the criminality to justice, otherwise, others may take queue from it and turn Nigeria to a country of lawlessness at every slightest provocation.
“While CAN does not and will not encourage casting aspersions on any religion or religious leader of any faith, it frowns at hiding under the gab of any religious extremism to perpetrate any form of criminality against its members especially in Northern Nigeria. God Almighty is not and can never be a weak God for mere mortal to fight and defend Him. On the contrary, it is He who keeps, watches and defends us. CAN believe that life is sacred and must never be taken by another unless as directed by the State. We appeal and counsel those who feel and think that killing and oppressing Christians is a demonstration of their service to their God to learn from history. Those that tried it in Egypt and their experiences should be enough warning. There is a Red Sea awaiting them, even those who are secretly encouraging them, must partake in the Red Sea experience,” CAN warned.