By Gideon Njoku
His Eminence, Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto has called on the Inspector General of Police, IGP Mohammed Adamu, to effect the arrest and prosecution of the Catholic Bishop of Nsukka, His Lordship Bishop Godfrey Onah.
The usually calm Sultan was upset by an alleged recent attack on Mosques and Muslim faithfuls in Nsukka.
In a petition to the IGP, and the Directorate of State Services, DSS, the Sultan said he had enough evidence indicting Bishop Onah over the attack on Muslims in Nsukka recently.
But reacting to the Petition, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, accused the Sultan of over-heating the polity.
In the petition signed on his behalf by Professor Salisu Shehu, Deputy President of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA, which President the Sultan is, he accused Bishop Onah of instigating the attack by his alleged inciting Sermon.
Said he: ” On Saturday, October 31, 2020, some Christian bigots unleashed violent and virulent attack on Muslims in Nsukka, and burnt their Mosques as a result of a hateful and inciting Sermon, full of lies and fallacies delivered by one Bishop Reverend Father, Godfrey Onah.
“In the Sermon, it was clear that the Bishop instigated the worshippers against Mosques and Muslims. It would, therefore, require any disagreement, no matter how minute, to execute the premeditated havoc wreaked on the Muslims in the two zones.
“Specifically, we implore you as a matter of urgency to interrogate Reverend Father (Bishop) Godfrey Igwebuike Onah of his hate speech, inciting sermon of lies, fabricated to provoke hatred of Muslims.”
The Sultan is the second person to ask for the Bishop’s arrest. The first was a Media Aide to Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State.
But Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA’s National Cordinator, took an exception to the petition, and accused the Sultan of incitement and threat against Christianity by what he called “his unholy petition.”
Onwubiko: “The Sultan is inciting and threatening Christianity by trying to play god, and must not be allowed to achieve his unholy plans. If we sit back and fold our arms, whilst this perceived discrimination is allowed to foster, then we will be shooting ourselves in the foot, and destroying the essence of constitutional democracy.”
HURIWA asked the IGP, and the Director General of the DSS, to dismiss the Sultan’s petition.
Neither Bishop Onah, nor the Catholic Diocese of Nsukka has reacted to the Sultan’s unprecedented call for the Bishop’s, arrest, but the Governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, has promised to rebuild the Mosques.
