Sharia Council blasts Wike over mosque demolition

The Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria on Monday condemned Governor Nyisom Wike of Rivers state for ordering the demolition of a Jumaat mosque in Port Harcourt.

Secretary General of the council, Nafiu Baba-Ahmad said while addressing newsmen in Kaduna that the action is not only irresponsible, but also capable of degenerating into serious security problem in the country.

The Sharia council also lampooned Muslim leaders, including governors and legislators for their conspiratorial silence in the face of great injustice against Muslims.

“While we condemn Wike’s desperate wickedness, we also call on all relevant executive, legislative organs of the federal government to nip this unnecessary and unwholesome development before it escalates into an avoidable reciprocation, with obvious unpredictable negative consequences,” the council said.

It reminded Gov. Wike that what makes Nigeria great is its pluralism and diversity.

The council recalled that recent survey on the number of churches in the country, reveales that “there are more churches in Kano city alone than in Bayelsa state and the number of churches in Sokoto out -number those in Ebonyi state.

“So, if we adopt similar intolerant and irresponsible action by Gov. Wike, only God knows what the negative consequence would be for peace and continued corporate existence of the country.

“Islam means peace and total submission to the will of Allah, so it is because of that you have in the city of the caliphate more churches than in the whole Bayelsa state.”

The council stressed that governor was lying when he claimed that he did not demolish any mosque, stressing that the mosque has valid approvals of the state government and as such there was no justification for its demolition.

“Clearly he got carried away by the recent declaration of Rivers as a Christian state; therefore, he is trying to show his intolerance of Muslims,” the Sharia council added and demanded the governor to reverse what he has done and pay compensation for demolishing the mosque