As the resolution of the feud between traditional religious worshippers and Islamic clerics in Kwara State is still hanging in the balance, the highest body of traditional groups in the country, the Ancient Religion Society of African Descent International Council (ARSADIC), charged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday to intervene promptly on the matter in the interest of national unity.
The Apex body of the Islamic group, while speaking with newsmen through its President, Ifagbenusola Atanda, at Ile-Oduduwa in Ile-Ife, frowned at the way and manner in which traditional religious worshippers are being molested and persecuted by Muslims in Ilorin and called on the concerned authorities to address the matter urgently to avoid a lingering crisis that could snowball into unmanageable bloodshed in the town.
He wondered why traditional worshippers should be maltreated when, in fact, everyone has the right to practise the religion of his choice.
According to him, “Nigeria is a secular society where anyone is free to practise any religion of his choice in any part of the country and, as a result of this, “other religious adherents should desist from harassing our people”.
“If there is a crisis in one part of Nigeria, it will affect the whole country indirectly, so we do not want a crisis, but our right to worship as we deem fit must not be infringed upon by anyone in any part of a country, which the constitution describes as a secular society.”
The group president, however, charged President Tinubu to prevail on the Inspector General Of Police, Olukayode Egbetokuni, to institute an independent panel of inquiry to unravel the causes of the shameful crisis due to an individual’s resolve to practise her faith, which has put the country on the spot in the global community.
“We also urged the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to institute an independent panel of inquiry to probe the incident and identify remote causes, and anyone discovered to be inciting a crisis should be dealt with adequately to curb future occurrences.”.
“The trend of the crisis in Ilorin is not just unfortunate but also shameful. Nigeria is a secular state, and some individuals are facing persecution for believing in certain ways of worship in a state within the country, which is unbelievable.
However, as Nigerians who believe in the rule of law, we are calling on the President to intervene to put a stop to this unfortunate development.”
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