ADEYEMI LAHANMI 
Against the backdrop of the recent murder in Niger State over alleged blasphemy, ADEYEMI LAHANMI, writes that justice should be used as a deterrent and to promote religious tolerance
Alexander Chase once said,’ More and more people care about religious tolerance as fewer and fewer care about religion.” Religion has been an instrument that can either unify or divide people based on beliefs and its tenets, but it is an act of tolerance, showing compassion and love that best explains how religion should be practiced.
Unfortunately, it has become an instrument for the destruction of lives and property, leading many to shed tears and count their losses. Not too long ago, Deborah, a student in Sokoto State, was lynched because she reportedly blasphemed Prophet Mohammed, as at today, there is no clue as to when justice would be served.
Niger State was engulfed in a wave of another jungle justice as during the week a woman named Amaye, a local food vendor in the state, was burnt to death on an account of an alleged blasphemy against the Prophet Mohammed.
According to reports, it was gathered that a man jokingly proposed marriage to the vendor, and her response was considered blasphemous by some people in the area. Amaye was said to have made the alleged blasphemous remarks at her restaurant.
She was first taken to the palace of the District Head of Kasuwan-Garba, who then handed her over to security operatives for investigation. Subsequently, a mob overwhelmed the security operatives and lynched her.
While acknowledging the incident, the State Police Spokesman, Waiu Abiodun, said “Unfortunately, it led to a mob attack, and [she] was set ablaze before a reinforcement of security teams could arrive at the scene”. He later appealed to the public to remain calm and not take laws into their hands following the killing on Saturday in Kasuwan-Garba.
Amnesty International, (AI), some time ago, said that blasphemy is often “weaponised to settle personal scores” in northern Nigeria. It added that a minor disagreement or argument, often “deliberately orchestrated”, leading to accusations of blasphemy, “and then the mob lynches the accused instantly.”
Airing his views on the matter, Pastor Tosin Joseph said those that do engage in these killings don’t know what the religion of peace mean because if Islam is a religion of peace, “they should be able to accommodate other people’s opinions. You don’t fight for a God that has the power to fight for himself. Nobody wants to willingly join that because their actions towards people especially those who don’t believe in their beliefs is barbaric. If really, he is a Deity or God, you don’t fight for him and if they embrace others, I believe they can win more souls to their religion.
“There should be a serious sensitisation by their leaders and clerics. They should give them orientation on the truths embedded in Islam. There’s any and also let there be a law that forbids such evil because they may have been brainwashed into believing what they are doing is right the situation of illiteracy and poverty is being used as a vehicle to doing this.’
Ishaq Akintola condemns extra-judicial killings
Sharing his thoughts in a conversation with our correspondent, Professor Ishaq Akintola, Founder/ Executive Director Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), said Muslims need to be educated and the need to respect life.
“This can only stop when justice is fully entrenched in the system. Remember that it is not only in cases of blasphemy that mob action has been employed. Mob have burned armed robbers to ashes. They have beaten reckless hit and run drivers to death. They have also meted jungle justice to kidnappers apprehended by them.
“You only need to ask why people take the law into their hands in this manner in Nigeria. It is because people have no confidence in the justice system, the police, the judiciary and the socioeconomic ecosystem. They decide on mob action because they strongly believe that the authorities would compromise the course of justice even though they know in their hearts that jungle justice is unlawful.’
He also believes Muslim clerics play a role ensuring how this act can be stemmed. “Imams and other Muslim leaders should continue to promote Islamic values of patience, obedience to constituted authority, respect for the rule of law and the Islamic principle of the sanctity of human life.
“The Glorious Qur’an 5:32 compared the killing of a single person to the massacre of the whole of humanity. That means the life of every single homo- sapien has the weight of the whole of mankind. Life is totally and categorically sacred.
“In the same vein, Qur’an 6:151 also forbade the killing of a fellow human being except by a lawful authority after proper trial and a judicial pronouncement. No Muslim has the right to kill another person, whether the victim is a Muslim, Christian or traditionalist. The right to take a human life is in the sole custody of governments after a properly constituted court of jurisdiction has condemned an accused to death.”
When told about the frequency of such incidents, and his response to calls from various quarters that the killers be brought to book, and whether MURIC also wants justice for Deborah who was killed in Sokoto State in similar circumstances, he responded: “Of course, yes. I don’t believe in selective justice. Consequences should be an inclusive affair otherwise it is a sham. Deborah’s killing in Sokoto in May 2022 touched a sensitive cord in me. Justice is in my DNA. If you remember very well, MURIC condemned her killing and we asked the Sokoto Police Command to apprehend the culprits for prosecution.”
He agrees that this poses a threat to the Muslim community. “It poses a challenge to the need for proper enlightenment of the Muslim population. That means Muslim leaders and Imams should intensify the call for patience, restraint and respect for constituted authority. Impulsive recourse to violence must be curtailed.”
To him, “this throws the same challenge at both the government and our Christian neighbours. This is because a conducive atmosphere for proper enlightenment of Muslims is not possible without the cooperation of the government and adherents of other faiths.
“For instance, the only chance for proper enlightenment for Muslims is the Jumu’ah service on Friday where sermons are preached. But 90% of Muslims are always caged at work or school on Fridays and Imams can only educate those who are present in the mosque.”
He said that was why MURIC has been advocating for work-free Friday. “Government is not listening. The Christians stand against it even though their own Sunday is free. This is how Nigeria has continued cutting its nose to spite its face.
According to him, the challenge equally goes to Christians. “When you have firebrand pastors whose pastime is mainly to invite their congregants and ignite hate against Muslims, you will definitely produce thousands of Deborahs whose only passion is to provoke, abuse and insult Muslims and their holy ones.
“People like to complain about fanaticism and terrorism but, nobody talks of provocation, insults and abuses. Just as there is no smoke without fire, so also must we know that there is no terrorism without provocation, oppression and persecution.
“There cannot be no mob action without robbery, provocation or any other criminal act. Unfortunately, however, the world loves to heal the symptoms without paying any attention to the disease,” he said.
In a similar vein, Alex, a youth leader and from a Muslim background, faulted the notion of those who kill in the name of Islam. He attributed this to lack of knowledge and information. This is because when people are informed, their views will change. In his words “there is a tendency for extremists in Islam who can go to any length to defend their religion, especially in the North. Why would you fight for a God you are worshiping who the Supreme Being and go killing people in His name?” He went further to say not everyone will serve Mohammed as the cause of worshipping a higher being is for him to protect and shower his blessings on you but not to fight for him.
He said there have been cases where fights have broken out because of simple issues of not having ablution or praying on certain spots like when roads are blocked for prayers. “It’s very unfortunate for Amaye because the lady is quite young and nothing may be done to bring the killers to justice.”
Alex opined that the authorities have a lot to do in this regard as this isn’t the first case and there might be a notion because it is from the northern part of the country. “This action won’t definitely be the last if decisive actions are not taken to curb these fanatic acts. The government needs to do more in protecting the lives of its citizens and be strict with the enforcement of its laws, so that whenever such an act is done, decisive punishments should be carried out on the perpetrators of the act and also invest in reducing illiteracy and poverty in the North.”
He regretted that even the Saudis and those in the UAE don’t practice Islam like we are practising it here. Their leaders especially the Muslim clerics, need to educate their members to respect the sanctity of life and those who also preach extremism should be informed and renewed calls for the killers of Deborah to be brought to justice.
