Mosque attack: NSCIA demands arrest of Ekiti masqueraders

June 06, 2017

The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) in Ekiti State has called for the arrest and prosecution of masqueraders who unleashed terror on Muslims observing Ramadan in Ikun-Ekiti last week Tuesday.

The council also called on Governor Ayo Fayose to call a monarch and his subjects to order for their alleged complicity in the attack which left five Muslims including the Imam of the Ansar-Ud-Deen Central Mosque, Ustaz Abdurazaq Abubakar Bello whose head was smashed by the assailants.

While calling on Muslims to maintain peace, the Islamic body warned that it might not be able to stop them from defending themselves if nothing was done to protect them by government and security agencies.

Addressing pressmen in Ado-Ekiti yesterday, Ekiti NSCIA President, Alhaji Yakub Sanni, urged the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, to save the lives of Muslims in Ikun-Ekiti in particular and Ekiti State in general from unprovoked attacks.

Masqueraders said to be celebrating their annual Egungun Festival in Ikun-Ekiti in Moba Local Government Area swooped on the fasting Muslims who had gathered to break their fast before observing Maghrib (Sunset) prayers.

Apart from inflicting grievous bodily injuries on the Muslims, the masqueraders also vandalised the mosque and smashed cars parked outside.

Sanni accused the state police command of failing to act on the petition forwarded to it on the attack, expressing dismay that no arrest has been made since the incident occurred.

He said: “From the said day till date, the Commissioner of Police, Ekiti State Command and the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Otun Police Station had refused, disregarded and neglected the said petition while the masquerade worshippers under the directive of a monarch had continued to intimidate and threaten members of the Muslim community in Ikun-Ekiti.

“The leadership of this council had urged the Muslims to maintain peace which is the hallmark of Islam and to give the police authorities and indeed all the security agencies in the country the opportunity to look at this case and do the needful.

“You will recall that this same Egungun masquerade worshippers had earlier in the year 2013 attacked the same mosque and the worshippers therein. It has therefore, become a routine action of these masquerade worshippers to attack Muslims and their mosque in Ikun-Ekiti in the name of celebrating their Egungun Festival.

“It took the intervention of the state government in 2013 to avert what could have snowballed to a full-blown crisis.”