The Muslim Rights Concern
(MURIC), has strongly condemned the attack on St. Ignatius Catholic Church,
Ayar-Mbalom in Gwer East Local Government Area of Benue State.
The attack which happened
yesterday, led to the death of 19 persons, including two Catholic priests,
Joseph Gor and Felix Tyolaha.
Herdsmen in two separate
attacks in Guma and Gwer East on Tuesday butchered no fewer than 50 persons and
set over 70 houses on fire.
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director, MURIC, in a statement forwarded to news reporters, called for the
arrest of those behind the dastard act.
He said life was sacred and
that only Allah the Supreme Creator has the right to freely take what He gave,
stressing that,
“Therefore, killing for
vengeance, religious or ethnic reason is not only primitive but also sinful.”
Akintola said,
“Although the attackers
also burnt 50 houses and sacked the entire community, we are singling out the
vicious attack on the church for strong condemnation. Those who attack the
house of God have no single atom of piety in their hearts.
They should therefore not
expect mercy from Allah, the Supreme Creator. They seek to set different ethnic
groups and religions at one another’s throats. But they will fail by the Grace
of Allah.
We are constrained to
observe that most of the killings around the Middle Belt area are ignited by
hate speech. We therefore appeal to Nigerians to exercise caution in their
utterances, to respect human life, tolerate and forgive one another.
Every peaceful community is
a round hole whereas vengeance is a square peg. It is therefore an alien
instrument designed to cause commotion.
We charge the Inspector
General of Police to bring the killers of the worshippers in St. Ignatius
Catholic Church to book. We implore the Federal Government to do everything
possible to stop the carnage in the country, particularly in Benue and Taraba.”
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