Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, has strongly condemned the recent attack on a mosque in Ekiti State where several worshipers were injured and many properties were destroyed.
DAILY POST recalls that there was violence in Ikun Ekiti, a town under Moba Local Government last week as masqueraders attacked Muslims while breaking their fast in the Central Mosque.
The attack took place at sunset around 7pm when the Muslims had gathered in the mosque to observe the Maghrib prayer after breaking their Ramadan fast.
MURIC, while reacting to the incident described the attack as barbaric, provocative and highly unacceptable.
Professor Ishaq Akintola, Director, MURIC, in a statement on Tuesday said the attack cannot be isolated from the hostile and belligerent attitude of the governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, towards Muslims in the state as well as their mosques.
Akintola said, “We are inclined to declare that the masquerades who attacked Muslims inside their mosques in Ikun Ekiti took the cue from the governor’s open hostility towards Ekiti Muslims and his determination to destroy mosques in the state. It is already clear that Fayose has declared Muslims in the state as persona non grata and their mosques legitimate targets for destruction.
“MURIC therefore charges the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to wade into the matter before the total breakdown of law and order in the state. We demand immediate arrest and prosecution of the culprits. This will discourage reprisal attacks by those who feel that they have been victimized.
“The fact that the Muslims were attacked inside their mosque is quite instructive. The masqueraders alleged that they had warned the Muslims not to pray during their Egungun festival. They claimed that the adhan (Muslim call to prayer) that was called provoked them.
“This is nauseating. When did the Muslims’ adhan turn into a weapon of mass destruction? Who did the adhan injure? How can the prayers being offered by Muslims inside their own mosque become pernicious to the masquerades who were passing by? The worship of one faithful should not deter another from his own worship.
“We admit that the masquerades have a right to mark their festival. But their right stops where that of the Muslims starts. Egungun worshippers have no right under the sun to enter the mosque in the first place, talk less of going there to attack those inside with dangerous weapons. Their right to hold a rally and go round the city of Ikun Ekiti stops at the doorsteps of the mosque. They can pass by but they should not enter the mosque.”
“As we round up, we call on the IGP to quickly wade into the furore. Masquerades who attacked Muslims inside the mosque in Ikun Ekiti must be arrested and prosecuted for, breaking and entering, willful damage, thuggery, hooliganism, attempted murder and breach of the peace. The Nigerian Police must nip illegal curfews in the bud by making a strong statement banning unauthorised curfew anywhere in Nigeria.”
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