Another Nigerian student accused of insulting Prophet Mohammed, MURIC calls for caution

The case involves a woman identified as Naomi Goni, who was alleged to have insulted Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

This comes after the killing of a Christian student of Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto by fellow students over alleged blasphemy last Thursday.

MURIC, in a statement signed by its Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola on Sunday, urged the Borno State government to intervene in the matter.

He said, “Another lady has reportedly blasphemed against the person of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). The latest incident happened in Borno State. The lady in the eye of the storm is Naomi Goni, a student of Ramat Polytechnic, Maiduguri.

“One Abdulmajid Tanko Izge who is leading the allegation against her said in his post, ‘There is a girl named Naomi Goni who insulted the Messenger of Allah (saw) and in Islam, it is a death sentence even if it is a Muslim. We, therefore, call on the Borno State Government to take immediate action or else we Muslims will not sleep and we will take action’.

“But neither Tanko’s message nor others that have been posted have revealed the actual blasphemous statement. Her accusers should therefore tell Nigerians the actual statement made by her which they consider blasphemous.

“In fact, the lady herself has refuted the allegation. She said her phone was hacked by someone last year. That casts a shadow of doubt on the allegation. It also makes her case different as she might not have been the author of the post.

“Tanko’s blanket statement that ‘in Islam, it is a death sentence even if it is a Muslim’ also calls for concern among Shari’ah experts as he did not differentiate between an offence committed by a Muslim and another committed by a Christian.

“It is well known in Shariah circles in Nigeria that a Christian cannot be taken to a Shariah court unless he or she expressly opts for it.”

Via Sahara Reporters