Muslim Youths Attack Carpenter In Kaduna For Eating During Ramadan

Barely a week after an irate mob slaughtered a 70-year-old Bridget Agbahime in Kano state for alleged blasphemy, an ‘almost’ similar incident occurred in Kaduna state.
A carpenter, Mr. Francis Emmanuel, was attacked in Kakuri area of the metropolis by some Muslim youths allegedly for failing to observe the ongoing Ramadan fast.

A 41-year-old carpenter, Francis Emmanuel, was on Tuesday afternoon stabbed by Muslim youths for eating during Ramadan fasting in Kaduna.

Emmanuel, who spoke with pressmen on his sick bed amidst in pains from the assault, said the youth who were passing by, saw him eating at his work station, and approached him to find out why he was not partaking in the spiritual exercise.
This Day gathered that after explaining that he is not a Muslim, the boys numbering about six descended on him, beating him heavily, adding that he did not know how he landed at St. Gerald Catholic Hospital in Kakuri, where he has been responding to treatment.
He said:-

“I went to buy wood that I would use to work, and on my way back, I decided to buy what I will eat.”
“As I was eating, about six boys came to me and asked me whether I am a Muslim or a Christian, but I did not answer them. They asked me why I was not fasting, and it was at that point that I told them that I am not a Muslim.
“Before I knew what was happening, one of them slapped me. As I stood up in order to escape, the rest surrounded me. They started kicking me, using knives and other dangerous objects to attack me.
“Nobody could come to my aid because of the weapons in their possession. At some point, I lost consciousness. I don’t even know who brought me to the hospital.”

The Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, who was not pleased with the untoward act, called on the state’s police commissioner to arrest the culprits.

The governor made the disclosure when he paid Emmanuel a visit at the hospital alongside his deputy.
He said:-

“This is of very serious concern to the state government. We have warned before the beginning of Ramadan that everyone should observe the tenets of his or her religion, but without forcing it on anyone or taking the law into their own hands.
“This is a case of which people have taken the law into their own hands and I have directed the commissioner of police to make sure that the boys that did this are arrested and prosecuted for what they have done”.

Meanwhile, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the 19 Northern states, while reacting to the incident, expressed deep concern over religious extremism, saying that the situation needs serious consideration by government and stakeholders.

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