Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, Governor of Bauchi State, visited Warji, the headquarters of the state’s Warji Local Government Area, on Saturday, barely 24 hours after religious violence erupted in the town, urging residents to embrace peace and religious tolerance.
Warji made headlines after an alleged blasphemous statement against Islam by a 40-year-old lady, Rhoda Jatau, a member of the local government council’s health department.
The aforementioned comments sparked violence, the burning of houses, and the destruction of businesses, while some people were injured to varying degrees.
During his visit to sympathize with the people of the town, Governor Mohammed described Friday’s disturbance in the town as unfortunate, especially given that Bauchi State is regarded as one of the most peaceful in the country.
Governor Mohammed expressed regret that such a disturbance occurred in a town known for housing people of various religions and being a peaceful community for the past 100 years, and he urged young people in particular to avoid taking the law into their own hands.
He asserted that religion is close to people’s hearts and as such it is wrong of anyone to joke about other’s religion.
“We know that there are Christians and Muslims in Warji. Those of us who are 60 years old never heard of a crisis in Warji before this time.
“I must commend religious leaders, traditional leaders and security personnel for putting up a combined effort that lead to quenching of the violence.”
Mohammed, who visited the town with the heads of the state’s security agencies and top government officials, maintained that peace was an essential component of development and urged people, particularly adherents of the state’s two major religions, to be tolerant of each other’s religion in order for his administration to continue with its developmental projects across the state.
Governor Mohammed went on to say that the recent spate of insecurity in the country was enough to worry any well-meaning Nigerian.
The governor stated that the state government, under his leadership, had a special regard for peace and religious tolerance, and that as a result, anyone found fanning the embers of trouble in any part of the state would not be spared.
Governor Mohammed added that the spate of insecurity across the country was enough source of worry for every well meaning Nigerian.
The governor said the state government under his leadership had special regard for peace and religious tolerance, adding that for that reason it would not spare anyone found fanning the embers of trouble in any parts of the state.
He assured that an investigation would be carried out on the incident in order to forestall recurrence of such unfortunate incident in the state.
“My administration has a special regard for peace and religious tolerance, and I will not fold my arms and let unpatriotic people cause trouble in any part of the state,” he promised.
According to the governor, the administration was doing everything possible to promote peace and stability in the state and would not tolerate any challenges that could cause the state to suffer.
Earlier, the chairman of Warji LGA, Adamu Muhammad Danjumai, praised the governor for his timely visit.
Danjumai also praised security personnel for their prompt intervention, which he said was critical in restoring normalcy to the town, and vowed to continue working closely with security personnel to ensure peace and stability in the area.
According to Umar Sanda, the state Commissioner of Police, the police and other security agencies quickly intervened and brought the heinous incident under control.
CP Sanda vowed that the police and other security agencies would not tolerate people abusing the law.
He urged religious leaders in the state, however, to always assist in sensitizing their followers to the importance of peace, tolerance, and religious knowledge.
