Christian and Muslim groups in Kwara State are threatening to fight over land on which a church is being built in Ilorin

A major conflict is brewing between the Christian and Muslim communities in Kwara State. The genesis of the conflict was the allegation that some irate Muslim youths had a few weeks ago invaded the Living Faith Church, a.k.a Winner's Chapel in Sango area of Ilorin and destroyed properties worth more than N78million.

Chris Osiberu, provincial pastor of the church, told journalists after the attack that some Muslim youths in the community had after the Jumat prayer invaded the church and destroyed ongoing building construction on the site. He explained that while workers were busy at the site, "the Muslims numbering more than 100 mobilised themselves, demolished the fence, and stole some laptops of the architects and engineers on sight. "They destroyed all the materials on site.  In fact, they also nearly lynched one of the people who tried to accost them. We feel that this is  injustice.  They are not the only people who know how to fight. We too have people who can fight. It does not take us anything to mobilise more than 2000 of our people to fight.  But we feel that as people of peace, we want the world to know that this is an injustice.  We have the court judgement that gave us right to continue our work and we have the town planner's authorisation. So, why should anybody now take laws into their hands?," he asked.

He described the action of the attackers as an invitation to anarchy.  "As peace loving people, we are letting the world know so that if anything happens, they will know that it was started by the Muslims who are taking laws into their hands"

Worried by the disharmony created by the action between the Christian and Muslim    communities, the Kwara State Inter-religious Committee convened a meeting to find an amicable solution.  The meeting was convened based on a petition written to Abdulfatah Ahmed, Kwara State governor, by the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Kwara State chapter. The meeting was chaired by Gold Isiaka, secretary to the state government, who reiterated the state government's determination to promote and defend religious harmony in the state. While calling on all parties to embrace peace, the SSG warned that the full weight of the law would be brought to bear on any group or persons who disturb the peace or otherwise take the law into their hands under any guise. He said that government would do all that is in its power to promote religious tolerance and harmony for which the state is traditionally known.

Shortly after the meeting, Femi Muyideen Akorede, senior special assistant to the governor on media and communications, issued a statement expressing the assurances of leaders of both religions to live together in peace and resolve any misunderstanding between them through dialogue. According to the release, Mohammed Shaaba Koro, chairman of the committee promised that Christian and Muslims in the state would continue to live together in peace and harmony as both Islam and Christianity advocate peaceful co-existence. Koro advised all parties to the dispute over the construction of a church on the piece of land in question to maintain the peace as all petitions on the issue have been referred to the committee by the state government for an amicable resolution.

However, the meeting appears not to have restored the desired peace as the Muslim group has insisted on reclaiming ownership of the contentious parcel of land on which a church is being built.  Indeed, it is becoming apparent that the furore over the contentious land has become a tinderbox that could turn into a conflagration.

A recent  release jointly signed by  Abdullahi  Mogaji, A.A. Al-Ameen and  Abdulrahman Ahmed Al-Imam, representing the Ajegunle  Muslim Community  in Zango  said "all  the claims  of  CAN on the parcel  of land were myriads  of lies and outright falsehood  being peddled  by them and the Winners Church  Group  in particular,   on the Muslim  community refusal  to  allow  a  cheap  and dubious  passage  of  their  land   at  Ajegunle   Zango in Ilorin by the government."

The statement explained that the land in dispute "was purportedly acquired by the government from the Oloko family of Ilorin, the native owner for overriding public interest in 1977 and allocated to the defunct NITEL." The statement added that at  the liquidation of NITEL,   there was a bid to secretly give the land to the church, which  the Oloko  family took serious objection to.

However, more instructive is the group's statement that the land in dispute  "is situated directly  opposite  a  Central  Mosque  which predates  even  the purported  acquisition of 1977  as  the Central Mosque had  been existing  at the place for over  four and  a half decades now."

The Muslim community claimed that when they realised that a church was going to be built directly opposite   the Central Mosque in contravention of the state law on citing of mosques and churches, they put up a complaint.  But  rather than addressing the complaint, some of their elders  were arrested,  interrogated by the security agencies and their houses were searched  for daring to complain against the siting of a church  directly  in front  of  an old  Central Mosque.

Newswatch gathered that mediatory meetings of the state acting commissioner of police, CAN representatives, the state Director of State Security Service and the Muslim community in Sango were held to find an amicable solution to the crisis. The meeting recommended that the church should erect a shopping complex in the frontal part of the land to shield its activities away from the Muslim community while the proposed church should also face the existing road at the rear end. Some elders of the Muslim community were also asked to sign an undertaking to be of good behaviour and to agree to take responsibility for any breach of the peace arising from any actions they took.

It was in the face of the agreement that violence erupted on March 23. However, while defending their stand, the Ajegunle Muslim Community had explained that "the church in their usual way was only crying wolf when there was none." 

A new twist was added to the rumpus when the Kwara State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria came out with a statement on Thursday, 19 April, that the State Security Council had at a meeting put a stop to any development on the disputed land.

The statement signed by J.O. Folaranmi and C.O.S Fawenu, chairman and secretary, respectively condemned what it called "injustice, cheating and insult." According to it, "the  state government that is supposed to protect the Christians is turning the other eye in the face of oppression, persecution and obvious cheating."

While warning the state against relocation of the church, it said it would go to any length to defend the rights of Christians in Kwara State using all legal and constitutional means.