The TEKAN/ECWA block of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Taraba state has given the Federal Government a seven day ultimatum to arrest and prosecute the Islamic cleric in a viral video calling for religious war in the state.
Chairman of the block Rev. Philip Micah Dopah who gave the ultimatum at a press conference in Jalingo on Tuesday said that the religious leaders based outside the state have displayed total disregard for peaceful coexistence and the tenets of every sane religious sect by openly calling for religious war over a political development.
Dopah noted that ” we want to address or rather make right some issues raised by some Islamic clerics outside Taraba State which are tantamount to causing religious war inorder to destabilize the existing peace in the state. The so-called Islamic clerics are not only threatening religious war but also calling for the establishment of a Sharia Islamic Government in Taraba State as a protest against the emergence of a Christian gubernatorial candidate Senator Emmanuel Bwacha at the recently conducted APC primaries in Jalingo the Taraba State Capital.
“TEKAN/ECWA would have been mute over such devilish, unguided, inhuman, Mischievous, Callous and barbaric utterances if not for the simple fact that such utterances are coming from religious leaders who are supposed to be preaching peaceful and harmonious coexistence among the followers of every religion in the state as against fanning the ambers of disunity for the promotion of religious war.
“Our reaction is also aimed at drawing the attention of Government, particularly security agencies to immediately step into this ungodly issue by applying the laws appropriately on those trying to undermine the sovereignty of the Nation as enshrined in the country’s constitution.
“We want to place it on record that the video clips making the rounds in the social media by some Islamic clerics namely Sheikh Ibrahim Aliyu Kaduna, Abubakar Nta and others who are based in Kaduna and other parts of the country are not preachers of peace but religious leaders who can best be described as promoters of violence, hate and disunity in the country. Again the assertion as contained in the video clips that it was a must for a Muslim politician to emerge as the gubernatorial flag bearer of the APC in Taraba State, clearly portrays ignorance on the part of religious leaders who are only good in misleading their followers in this 21st century.
“Regrettably, but rather shamelessly the crusade being championed by these Islamic clerics that the population of Muslims in Taraba State is 65% while that of the Christians is thirty five percent is a spread of falsehood with the sole aim of winning support and to attract sympathy from some ignorant persons living outside the state to get control of political power without recourse to the electoral laws governing the entire electoral process in the country.
“If I may ask, where did the Islamic clerics get the indices to prove to the world that Muslims were the majority in terms of population and why have they not been able to produce the governor in Taraba State considering the simple fact that politics is a game of numbers? The Christians, I want to say unequivocally are determinants of the electoral process because of their population and have maintained the tempo since the advent of the state in 1991 and due to the understanding between them and Muslims, the slot of Deputy Governor is often given to the Muslims thereby balancing the political equilibrium for the good of the state.
“We are therefore giving the Federal Government and its security forces seven days to get those so called evil and ungodly Muslim leaders arrested to face the full wrath of the law for promoting, inciting and instigating religious violence in Taraba State.
“We want to emphasize our call on the Government and Security Agencies in particular to immediately arrest and prosecute the Islamic clerics who are the producers of the video clips for inciting and instigating religious crisis and threatening Christians in Taraba State in the name of politics. Therefore, should there be any breakdown of law and order, nobody should be held responsible or accountable but the so-called Islamic Clerics and their cohorts for their unguided and inflammatory utterances as contained in the video clips.
“Having said that, we are appealing to the good people of Taraba State to remain calm and maintain their peaceful disposition which they are known for in the overall interest of progress and development,” he said. (Daily Sun)
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