Muslim group condemns masqueraders attack on Nsukka Catholic priest

Muslim Rights Concern, an NGO, has condemned the attack on a Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Lawrence Ezeugwu, by masqueraders in Nsukka.

MURIC’s Director, Ishaq Akintola, spoke on behalf of the group in a statement he issued on Tuesday in Ibadan, describing the attack as “barbaric and crude.”

Ezeugwu was reportedly attacked on March 29 in Nsukka and beaten into coma by a group of masqueraders popularly called `Oriokpa’, which barricaded the road at Ugwuoyia, Nsukka.

Akintola condemned what he called “wanton exhibition of religious extremism by traditionalists”, adding that it was crude, barbaric and smacked of hooliganism.

“We call the attention of the Federal Government of Nigeria to the excesses of traditionalists particularly in southern Nigeria.

“Even in the South-West, the Oro cult worshippers behave as if they are above the law. Traditionalists impose illegal curfew without being challenged by the authorities.

“A good example is the curfew imposed by Oro cultists in Ikorodu, Lagos State, during the last Ramadan season, which nearly caused a violent clash between Muslims and traditionalists.

“It is well known that Muslims shuttle between the mosques and their homes day and night during Ramadan. The imposition of a curfew during such a period was not only illegal but also provocative.’’

He said although the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Section 38 (i) & (ii) guarantee freedom of religion, thereby empowering traditionalists to freely practise their faith, it  does not allow one group to lord it over another person.

“And the right of traditionalists to religious freedom stops where it begins to encroach on others’ rights.”

The director said that for genuine and enduring peace to thrive, Nigerians must learn to respect one another’s rights.