Date: 2017-01-18

Sultan of Sokoto and President of Jama’at Nasril Islam(JNI), Muhammadu Sa'ad Abubakar III, has said no religion condones killing of innocent people.

He declared that, among the "two main religions, there is no where I found that killing of innocent people are allowed. We have problems in this country. Let's not deceive ourselves; there is friction between Muslims and non-Muslims."

The Sultan made the declaration at the opening of a two-day international conference on "Security and peaceful co-existence in Nigeria," in Ilorin, Kwara State.

The conference is organised by Kwara State Government, through the Arabic Education Board.

The Sarkin Muslim noted that the foundation of Nigeria's problem is "injustice, which leads to bad governance. We have been having problems in Nigeria because of impunity. The small percentage of criminals in our midst should, however, not be used to label all of us."

The Sultan, however, noted that, "with proper understanding, we can overcome our problems" and added that "such problems shouldn't have arisen, given the fact that over 90 percent of Nigerians are Muslims and Christians and they have a guide.

"God did not make a mistake when he created us as Muslims and Christians and made us people of Nigeria.

"What the terrorists are doing are anti- Islam and they ( those killing innocent people in the name of Jihad) are going straight to hell for committing murder. We know what Islam says we should do and not do. We should understand the doctrine of our religion. We should move closer to one another to understand ourselves better. The number of Muslims killed by Boko Haram far outweighs that of Christians. Therefore, Boko Haram cannot lay claim to be Muslims. In Islam, life is sacred."

The Sultan urged religious leaders to stop inciting people against one another through their preaching and also, advised government to "do something about this. Anyone who hides under religion to kill innocent people should be sanctioned appropriately."

On the crisis in Southern Kaduna, he expressed optimism that an enduring solution will be found to the problem, at a meeting of governors forum slated for tomorrow.

The Sultan commended the state government for organising the conference, and urged Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed to reach out to President Muhammadu Buhari and other governors, on the outcome of the conference.

Ahmed opened the conference and noted that "Nigeria is facing many security challenges." He said the conference was designed to proffer solutions to the security challenges facing the country in all fronts and that the youths who formed the bulk of the nation's population are disenchanted.

According to the governor, the nation was sitting on a time bomb waiting to explode if the problem of youth unemployment is not tackled.

He harped on the need for the stakeholders to address poverty as a way of reducing youths restiveness; and economic and security problems.