HURIWA Kicks As Sultan Of Sokoto Calls For Arrest Of Enugu Catholic Bishop, Godfrey Onah

The Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III, has called for the arrest and prosecution of the Catholic Bishop of Nsukka, Godfrey Igwebuike Onah, for inciting violence against Muslims in the South East.

Abubakar, who is the President of Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), accused Bishop Onah of being behind the recent attack on Muslims in Nsukka, Enugu State.

According to him, some Christian bigots attacked Muslims in Nsukka and burnt their Mosques as a result of a hateful and inciting sermon, full of lies and fallacies, delivered by Bishop Onah.

This was contained in a petition signed by the NSCIA’s Deputy Secretary-General, Prof. Salisu Shehu, addressed to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu and the Department of State Services (DSS).

“On Saturday, October 31, 2020, 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 Reverend Father, Godfrey Igwebuike Onah.

“In the sermon, it was clear that the Bishop instigated the worshipers against Mosques and Muslims. It would, therefore, require any disagreement, no matter how minute, to execute the premeditated havoc wreaked on the Muslims in the two zones.

“Specifically, we also implore you, as a matter of urgency to interrogate Reverend Father (Bishop) Godfrey Igwebuike Onah of his hate speech, inciting sermon of lies, fabricated to provoke hatred for Muslims,” the petition reads.

However, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), in a counter statement, urged the Sultan and those it termed as religious bigots to stop overheating the country’s polity.

HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko condemned the petition against Bishop Onah and accused the Sultan of inciting and threatening Christianity by his “unholy petition.”

“The Sultan is inciting and threatening Christianity by trying to play god and must not be allowed to achieve his unholy plans. If we sit back and fold our arms whilst this perceived discrimination is allowed to fester, then we will be shooting ourselves in the foot and destroying the essence of constitutional democracy.

“We are by this Media Statement demanding that the Inspector General of Police and the Director General of the State Security Service should dismiss the unholy petition else we will not fail to consider the option of seeking legal redress in a Court of competent jurisdiction.

“We also urge the President; His Excellency, Muhammadu Buhari to save what is left of the unity of this country. In the last five years, his administration has planted animosity between different Ethnic and religious nationalities than even the civil war created, so much that it will take the Grace of God and the will to overpower our differences for Nigeria to rebuild the bridge of unity that the discriminatory administrative style of President Muhammadu Buhari has destroyed in the last five years,” the statement reads.

KanyiDaily recalls that Salihu Tanko Yakasai, a media aide of Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, had also called for the arrest of Bishop Onah over his inciting messages against Muslims.