What Quran says on blasphemy – Tunde Bakare

Pastor Tunde Bakare, a presidential candidate and the Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church has declared that the Qur’an does not sanction murdering, especially for blasphemy.

Bakare made the remarks on Monday while condemning the assassination of Deborah Samuel, a 200-level student of Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto.

“As one who was a devout Muslim and who read the Qur’an from cover to cover, what was done to Deborah Samuel is nowhere justified in the religion of peace that was handed down to me by my grandfather who was the first Chief Imam of Iporo Sodeke Mosque in Abeokuta.”

Bakare expressed his condolences to Deborah Samuel’s family and prayed that God would grant them the strength to suffer such a tragic loss.

The presidential candidate urged unity and respect for humanity in the country, stating that no human being should be subjected to such treatment.

“No Nigerian, and indeed, no human being, should be subjected to such inhumanity by fellow humans.

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“As a nation of diverse peoples and cultures, there are available institutional mechanisms for resolving sensitive conflicts and, no matter the provocation, no person under our laws has the right to take laws into their own hands.

He praised Governor Aminu Tambuwal for deploying security to restore law and order and address the “underlying concerns that this unfortunate act has once again brought to the fore.”

Bakare urged inhabitants of Sokoto State to remember the tolerance and friendliness for which they have long been known.

“So hospitable were the people that my father settled in Sokoto State for a period and invested in cotton farms in Shagari Village. Though he was Yoruba, my father was given the nickname “Sanni Arewa” by the very friendly people of Sokoto. Such unity and tolerance should remain our true identity as a people,” the statement read.