Enugu, 04 November, 2020 / 9:15 pm (ACI Africa).
Muslim leaders in Nigeria have petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and other security heads in country to interrogate the Catholic Bishop of Nsukka Diocese over alleged “hateful sermon” that they say led to attacks on Muslims in some parts of the West African nation.
In a Wednesday, November 4 statement seen by ACI Africa, the leadership of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) indicates that the petition is contained in November 1 letters to the IGP and the Director of the State Security Service (SSS).
The Muslim leaders petitioned the security heads to interrogate Bishop Godfrey Igwebuike Onah for “the recent incessant arson and pogrom against Muslims in the South-East and South-South and a trigger hateful sermon,” NSCIA officials indicate in the November 4 statement.
In the letters signed by NSCIA Deputy Secretary General, Prof. Salisu Shehu, the officials also called for the protection of lives and property of Muslims in the regions as “bonafide citizens of Nigeria who should live peacefully in any part of the country.”
On October 31, "some Christian bigots unleashed violent and virulent attack on Muslims in Nsukka and burnt their Mosques as a result of a hateful and inciting sermon, full of lies and fallacies, delivered by one Bishop Godfrey Igwebuike Onah," NSCIA officials say, citing the November 1 petition against the 64-year-old Nigerian Bishop.