It's the season of Ramadan Kareem, whereby all Muslims are expected to fast for a period of one month.
Mr. Francis Emmanuel, 41, a carpenter, was attacked in Kaduna (Kakuri area of
the metropolis) by some Muslim youths allegedly for failing to observe
the current Ramadan fast.
The incident almost claimed the life of Mr. Emmanuel, reportedly
happened around 2.30pm last Tuesday on Sokoto Road, prompting neighbours
and good samaritans to rush him to the St. Gerald Catholic Hospital,
Kakuri for medical treatment.
Mr. Emmanuel, who almost lost his sight narrated all that happened to him:
“I went to buy wood to do some work,
when I came back, I bought food to eat. As I was eating, about six Hausa
boys came and asked me whether I was a Muslim or a Christian. I did not
answer them. They asked me why was I not fasting with them? I told them
that I am not a Muslim.
“Before I knew it, one of them slapped
me. As I stood up, the rest came and surrounded me and started attacking
me with knives. I don’t know them. Nobody could come to my aid because
of the type of dangerous knives they were carrying.
“They used cutlasses, scissors and
knives on me until I became unconscious, I don’t even know who brought
me to the hospital,” he said.
Also speaking, his elder brother, Mr.
Paul Uloko, who described the incident as barbaric, appealed to security
agents to fish out the culprits and bring them to justice.
“We are calling on the authorities to
fish out these barbarians and bring them to justice. This wickedness
must not be condoned. The culprits must be brought to justice in the
interest of peace and stability in Kaduna State,” he said.
The Christian Association of Nigeria
(CAN) in the 19 Northern states, while reacting to the incident,
expressed deep concern over religious extremism, saying that the
situation needs serious consideration by government and stakeholders.
The secretary general of the
association, Mr. Danladi Yerima, a lawyer, told journalists in an
interview when he visited the victim at the hospital that Kaduna had
witnessed relative peace for sometime now and urged the authorities to
bring the culprits to justice before things get out of hand.
Meanwhile, the Kaduna State Governor,
Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, has asked the state’s police commissioner to fish
out those responsible for the dastardly act.
El-Rufai, his deputy and other top
government officials, who visited Emmanuel and a police officer who was
shot by armed robbers, said he was deeply concerned about the incident.
“This is of very serious concern to the
state government. We have warned before the beginning of Ramadan that
everyone should observe the tenets of his or her religion, but without
forcing it on anyone or taking the law into their own hands.
“This is a case of which people have
taken the law into their own hands and I have directed the commissioner
of police to make sure that the boys that did this are arrested and
prosecuted for what they have done” he said in an interview with
journalists in the hospital.
In a statement issued after the visit to
the hospital, the state government vowed that it would not allow anyone
to get away with any crime using his or her faith as an excuse.
According to the statement signed by
spokesman to the governor, Mr. Samuel Aruwan, “There is no compulsion in
religion. It is a free country, and that means no imposition of faith
or religious practices on anyone.
“We sympathise with our fellow citizen,
Francis Emmanuel. We have assured him that we will not allow anybody to
violate his right, or that of any other citizen. Kaduna State Government
is resolute in its stand that all criminals, including those who try to
hide under Christianity or Islam, will be tackled and prosecuted.
“We implore everyone to carry out their
duties and to uphold peace and security in Kaduna State. We should not
allow differences in faith to be a barrier to harmony or a cause for
conflict. Nobody can impose the tenet of his faith on another person.
The decision to observe any religious activity is the prerogative of the
individual.”
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