Kaduna state lawmakers, have reportedly passed a bill to grant license to pastors and imams before preaching few days after Governor Nasir El-Rufai assumed office for second term.

Lawmakers passed the bill to grant license to pastors and imams before preaching, three years after the bill faced serious criticism from different religious bodies and individuals. The bill seeks to regulate religious preaching in Kaduna State, with a view of promoting religious harmony and peaceful co-existence amongst the residents of the state was brought to the House since 2016.

Speaking before the bill was passed, the state’s house of assembly speaker, Alhaji Aminu Abdullahi Shagali disclosed that a state inter-faith Regulatory council has been established with a chairman to be appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of the Secretary to the state. Two members representing the Christian and Muslim faith, respectively, to be appointed by the Governor, among others. The bill further stipulates that in each of the 23 local Government areas of the state, a committee to be known as the Local Government Inter-faith Committee has to be established.

The supplementary provision explained that all cassettes, compact disks (CDs), flash drives or any other communication gadgets containing religious recordings from accredited preachers may be played inside a private dwelling unit or vehicle, entrance porch (zaure), Church, Mosque and any other designated place of worship. Any person who plays religious cassette or uses a loud speaker for religious purposes between the hours of 11pm to 4am in a public place, and uses a loudspeaker for religious purposes other than inside Church or Mosque commits an offence and shall on conviction be liable to imprisonment for a term of not less than two years or pay a fine of less than N200,000.00 or both.

It also adds that any person who publicly insults or seeks to incite contempt any religion, by making false statements in such a manner as to be likely to lead to a breach of peace, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term of not less than five years a fine of not less than N100,000.00 or both.