The Christian Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (CPFN) has urged Islamic leaders to educate their followers on the dangers of taking law into their own hands whenever they are allegedly infringed on their religious beliefs through open preaching in mosques and the media.
Pastor E.S Awojide, the CPFN’s National Chairman, issued a statement through Elder Segun Bamidele, the group’s National Publicity Secretary, in response to Deborah Samuel of Sokoto’s Shehu Shagari College of Education, who was stoned to death and burned for alleged blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad.
The Nigerian Christian Pentecostal Fellowship condemned the killing, calling it inhumane and illegal.
According to the statement, the Sultan of Sokoto, the spiritual leader of all Muslims in Nigeria, and other Islamic leaders should openly preach to all Muslims that they should never attack or kill anyone for any reason, but rather report any allegation of infringement of any law or custom to the police and not take laws into their own hands.
It was suggested that preaching openly in mosques and on national television would be effective in persuading Muslims that killing others for blasphemy was not the proper course of action.
According to CPFN, the Sultan’s statement condemning the killing of the student was insufficient for him and the head of Nigeria’s Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs.
“The Sultan should inform his followers of the consequences of violating all human rights guaranteed by the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s Constitution,” it said.
He strongly condemned what he called a “heinous incident” and demanded that all those involved, not just the two already apprehended, be investigated, arrested, and prosecuted.
According to the statement, the laws of the land prohibit anyone from taking the life of another human being for any reason.
The CPFN expressed its condolences to Deborah Samuel’s family, as well as all Christians in Sokoto State and Nigeria at large, and urged them to remain calm and orderly in the face of the crisis.
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The national chairman also urged Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State and President Muhammadu Buhari to bring the perpetrators of Deborah Samuel’s gruesome murder to justice as soon as possible.
The statement suggested that the perpetrators should face the law in order to serve as a deterrent to other criminal elements who use religion as a cover.
