Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has condemned the attack on Francis Emmanuel, a Christian who was stabbed in the Kakuri area of the state on Tuesday for not observing Ramadan.
Emmanuel, 41, told journalists on his sick bed at St. Gerald Catholic Hospital said he was eating his lunch when miscreants numbering about six descended on him on because he was not fasting.
In a statement signed by Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Samuel Aruwan, the state government said it has directed the police to arrest the perpetrators of the attack, warning that there is no room for religious violence and criminality in the state.
El-Rufai on Wednesday led a team of senior government officials, including the Deputy Governor, Barnabas Yusuf Bala, to visit Emmanuel who is recuperating at the hospital.
We assure Francis Emmanuel and all citizens that Kaduna will not allow criminals to hide behind religion pic.twitter.com/SDB3ZphlxP
— Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai (@elrufai) June 8, 2016
The governor comforted the victim and promised that the government will not allow any criminal to hide under any religious guise or to use religion as justification for violating the right of any citizen.
“The government will not allow anyone to get away with any crime using his or her faith as an excuse. There is no compulsion in religion. It is a free country, and that means no imposition of faith or religious practices on anyone,” El-Rufai said.
“We sympathise with our fellow citizen, Francis Emmanuel. We have assured him that we will not allow anybody to violate his right, or that of any other citizen. The Kaduna State Government is resolute in its stand that all criminals, including those who try to hide under Christianity or Islam, will be tackled and prosecuted.
“We have been given faith to live our lives in obedience to the Almighty, and to let that obedience manifest in our kindness to others, the honesty of our conduct and the consistency of our hard work. Care and compassion for others is one of the noblest ways of demonstrating love for God.
“We implore everyone to do their duty to uphold peace and security in Kaduna State. We should not allow differences in faith to be a barrier to harmony or a cause for conflict. Nobody can impose the tenet of his faith on another person. The decision to observe any religious activity is the prerogative of the individual.
“Let us all remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the security agencies.”
