A notable Islamic organisation in Nigeria, the Nasrul-lahi-li Fathi Society of Nigeria (NASFAT), has strongly condemned the killing of some persons in Zamfara State over an allegation of blasphemy.
NASFAT described the act as a crime against God and humanity and called for a proper investigation into the incident.
Speaking through its Chief Missioner, Alhaji Abdullahi Akinbode, the group stressed that blasphemy was not a crime in Nigeria, being a secular state.
“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,” Mr Akinbode said.
NASFAT then called on the Federal Government to swiftly move to bring perpetrators of the killing to book to serve as deterrent to others.
On Monday, eight persons were killed in Talata Mafara, Zamfar State, 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.
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