BREAKING NEWS, Religion
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THE Nasrul-lahi-li Fathi Society of Nigeria has described the killing of some persons in Zamfara State over an allegation of blasphemy as a crime against God and humanity and called for a proper investigation into the incident. The Chief Missioner, Nasrul-lahi-li Fathi Society, Alhaji Abdullahi Akinbode, told one of our correspondents on the telephone on Tuesday that blasphemy was not a crime in Nigeria, being a secular state.
He added that the perpetrators of the act should be brought to justice. He said, “I have not been fully briefed about the incident. But whatever the case may be, life is sacred. God has not given anybody the right to take life, except the authority and the authority is the government of a nation if one has committed a crime that carries the death penalty.
“No religion preaches that life should be taken except there is war. But there is no war and there can never be war. The stand of NASFAT is that life is sacred. The culprits should be apprehended and be made to face justice.
“Nigeria is a multi-religious country. You can only talk of blasphemy where there is one religion. A blasphemy case will only be established in jurisprudence if the state makes a rule that the state shall be a state of one religion. Blasphemy is not unlawful in Nigeria because it is a multi-religious state.”
The President, Campaign for Democracy, Abdul Usman, also condemned the Zamfara killings. He said, “Those who fight the cause of religion should understand that Almighty God says in many chapters and verses in His holy book that He will protect His religion.
“In the days of the holy prophet, he was cursed right to his face without any reaction from him. Rather, he continued to preach peace. Today, ignorance has bedevilled the religion. The government should investigate the act and the perpetrators be brought to book. No religion preaches violence.”
On his part, the National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin, said it was a shame that people were getting lynched for blasphemy that is unknown to the laws of Nigeria. He said, “Are these barbarians saying their God is not powerful enough to handle those who disrespect him? The full weight of the law should be brought to bear on these murderers to end this nonsense.”
Eight persons were killed on Monday in Talata Mafara after a student of the Abdu Gusau Polytechnic, Talata Mafara, was accused of blasphemy. The boy was said to have been beaten to a pulp by a mob, after which a man, whose name was simply given as Tajudeen, took him in his car and drove him to a hospital. An eyewitness said the mob, enraged by Tajudeen’s action, moved to his house and set it on fire, killing eight persons. – Punch
— Aug 24, 2016 @ 14:20 GMT
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