News
MURIC, 12 other Muslim groups demand justice against killers of Deborah
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has teamed up with 12 other Muslim groups to demand justice against the killers of Deborah Samuel, a 200-level student of the Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto State, who was gruesomely killed over allegations of blasphemy against Islam’s Prophet Muhammad.
The group under the auspices of Muslims United for Peace and Justice (MUPJ), at a press conference in Lagos on Monday, said the lynching of the victim had no place in Islam and urged the government to make sure the perpetrators of the crime were brought to book.
The group advised the Sokoto State government and the Federal Governments to expediently promulgate laws to criminalize blasphemy and killing for blasphemy outside the law, and faithfully enforce them.
While speaking at the press conference, the Director General of MURIC, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, appealed to security agencies and the government for justice against the killers, irrespective of the nature of their motivation or the justification they claimed.
According to Akintola, “the tragic event should be utilized as a turning point in Muslim-Christian relations and herald a new peaceful co-existence”, adding that “these were achievable ideals if each religious adherents would embrace and sincerely practice the sublime messages of their faith.”
Read also :Murder of Deborah unjustifiable —MURIC
He urged Christians in the country to employ all means to fend-off intolerance and called for deep introspection by leaders of the Christian community.
“We express strong solidarity with voices of reason and moderation amongst scholars of Islam and declare readiness to continue working together to strengthen the pillars of national peace, reconciliation and understanding.
“We enjoin leaders of various religious faiths to continue to enlighten and educate adherents on the need for mutual respect, to focus on messages of love and work against voices of hatred and extremism, amongst them,” the MURIC DG said.
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...