HURIWA accuses northern governors of grooming Islamic extremists
CIVIL rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria ( HURIWA), has accused some of the 19 northern Nigerian governors of introducing policies that promote the grooming of fanatics and Islamic extremists.
The group accused some governors of cornering substantial resources of their states to promote and elevate one religion as a state religion in clear breach of Section 10 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of 1999 as amended.
HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, said the inaction of the 18 Muslim northern governors and their failure to strongly condemn the mob murder of alleged blasphemers were some of the ways the governors were aiding the heinous and barbaric acts.
The rights group said when state governors in most Northern states corner public resources to build places of worship, sponsor feedings of their Moslem citizens during religious fasting seasons, and deny certification for land ownership for churches, then religious Islamic extremists will believe that they can do just anything in the name of their chosen religion, including beheading or stoning to death of alleged blasphemers and nothing will happen to them and the truth is that they have been killing alleged blasphemers and are getting away with their crimes.
HURIWA doubted that any of the arrested suspected killers of Deborah Yakubu would be brought to book, noting that Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State would be pressured to hide under the so- called riot in the state on Saturday to free the murderers of the Christian youth, a 200- level Home Economics student of the Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto, who was stoned to death for alleged blasphemy.
“The murder of Miss Deborah Samuel Yakubu in Sokoto is barbaric and sadistic. “It is frightening and disturbing, the near certainty that she won’t get justice given the antecedents of most governments in the core Muslim North that tolerate Islamic fundamentalism because most of the governors owe their elections to Islamic fanatics and indeed import Islamists from Niger and Chad to perpetrate electoral robbery.”
“Most of the population of those northern states tolerate fanaticism, such as mob justice for perceived and unproven allegations linked to what they termed as blasphemy,” it added.
HURIWA also condemned the burning of shops and churches in Sokoto State by unruly mobs demanding freedom for the few accused killers of Deborah Yakubu Samuel arrested by the police.