₦airaland Forum

The Northern Christian Association (CAN) in the 19 States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has commended the swift clarification by the Zamfara Government on the alleged forceful conversion of a lady to Christianity, while urging for vigilance and synergy on religious matters.

The Northern CAN acknowledged the public statement by the Zamfara State Government debunking reports concerning the alleged subsequent arraignment of Zainab Muhamadu before a Shari’ah Court over the religious conversion.

The Northern CAN Chairman, Reverend Joseph Hayab, and Secretary General, Bishop Muhammed Naga, in a statement on Thursday, commended the government’s swift response in addressing the concerns raised and providing clarification that no such case currently exists before any Shari’ah court in the state.

Besides, the Northern CAN leaders further explained that the statement from the Grand Khadi, as well as contributions from the Director-General of Hisbah and various security agencies, have helped douse tension and offer clarity on a matter that could have easily escalated into a national crisis.

“While we welcome this clarification, we emphasise that should any credible information surface in the future, it must be treated with the same level of urgency, transparency, and accountability.

“For now, based on the assurances provided by the Zamfara State Government and the stated confirmation that no crime has been committed for exercising the right to freedom of religion, Christians across the country should take note that no arraignment involving Miss Zainab is currently underway. This, for now, puts the matter to rest — unless and until verified facts indicate otherwise.

“We further commend the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS) and his team, as well as traditional rulers, youth leaders, religious figures, and security agencies in Zamfara State for their cooperation and maturity in handling the situation. Their collective efforts in seeking the truth and maintaining peace deserve recognition.

“CAN continues to appeal to security agencies nationwide to remain vigilant and thoroughly investigate any reports of religious rights violations as this is essential to prevent misinformation, protect the rights of all citizens, and preserve our nation’s fragile peace,” the Northern CAN statement stressed.

The Christian leaders in the North also called “for stronger synergy between Northern State Governments and religious bodies such as CAN, as constructive engagement and mutual understanding will ensure that issues of this nature are addressed before rumours are allowed to spread and confuse the public.

“To Christians in the North and across the nation, we assure you that CAN remains committed to uncovering the truth wherever it is hidden. We will not relent in our efforts to expose and bring an end to all forms of religious persecution and harassment in the region.

agulion:
Why do I feel that Zamfara State gvt are not saying the truth

BlackViper:
I have my doubts about this issue.
Zamfara is one of the 12 Northern States where apostasising from Islam is treated as a criminal offence under their Penal Code.
I suspect that the fear of a backlash caused the Zamfara State government to panic and stage a huge cover up.

I blame the saharareporters journalist for not scanning copies of court documents relating to the case and uploading them on social media. That would have made it harder for them to lie about the case as they are doing now.

Sodiq3:
No serious journalist will write such report without having a scanned copies of the said case. If you follow Saharareporters well, you will know that if there was such evidence, it will be an accompanying picture with the story. It is more than three days the Zamfara government denied the report, yet Saharareporters is yet to come back with evidence. Instead, they stylishly deleted the report without any corrigendum or apology.
That story alone can set the state or the country on fire. Yet nobody has been held responsible. We need press freedom but that also comes with responsibility on the press. Social responsibility is good when it comes to media freedom.

agulion:
Why do I feel that Zamfara State gvt are not saying the truth

papyjaypaul:
This.

Can you tell when the story was published or do you have the screenshot?

One thing I never liked about SR was how dodgy they were when it comes to media responsibility and it has affected how people like me trust them as a media house. You take anything from their platform with a pinch of salt. The first media house that made publishing of government documents normal.

dominique:
https://guardian.ng/news/northern-can-lauds-zamfara-govts-swift-response-to-christian-ladys-prosecution-claims

k4kenny:
The story was initially published by one Moses Eskor on Facebook without any accompanying evidence to support the claim. He didn't even attach a picture. Sahara, being incompetent published the fake news without fact checking or proper investigation, then stole used Aalia's picture. The Guardian and some other publications did the same. This is gross incompetence and deliberate plot to demonize Muslims. Their usual propaganda and fear mongering.

Now all have quietly deleted the news off their pages without a rebuttal or apology. Meanwhile some Christians still believe this rubbish as seen in some comments above.

papyjaypaul:
Sorry for the questions, I'm just ignorant and want to get things clear. So I didn't see the story you attached but I came across the video of that lady in the picture. She was talking about how she would pray for her mom to change religion and something like that. I am now wondering, how is she connected to the story? Was her mother the one they were talking about?

k4kenny:
The lady is a christian who reverted to Islam, it was shot about 2 years ago. I remember watching it back when she released it. She spoke abut the power of Du'a(prayers), how her christian mother rejected her conversion to Islam and gave her a tough time. She made lots of du'a for her mother to have a change of heart, now her mother has began to soften towards her, trying on hijabs, asking for meaning for Islamic terms etc...

Now the unscrupulous news outlets like sahara took a facebook post made by one Moses who didn't attach any evidence or sources. They then took a screenshot of the video of the Muslim lady, claiming she's the so-called Zainab from Zamfara . The lady in the picture is not a Nigerian, has never been to Nigeria. There's no Zainab facing execution in Zamfara. It's all lies.

agulion:
Why do I feel that Zamfara State gvt are not saying the truth

Richtaiwo:
Northern CAN should go for thickening of skin to mitigate the forthcoming cancellation by those illiterates.

Their philosophy is so crude that when gringory disagree with reports against him, he is a good man, but anyone else does same, it becomes damage control.

For CAN to debunk a lie, the association is marked for cancellation. Crude characters.

BlackViper:
I have my doubts about this issue.
Zamfara is one of the 12 Northern States where apostasising from Islam is treated as a criminal offence under their Penal Code.
I suspect that the fear of a backlash caused the Zamfara State government to panic and stage a huge cover up.

I blame the saharareporters journalist for not scanning copies of court documents relating to the case and uploading them on social media. That would have made it harder for them to lie about the case as they are doing now.

Sodiq3:
No serious journalist will write such report without having a scanned copies of the said case. If you follow Saharareporters well, you will know that if there was such evidence, it will be an accompanying picture with the story. It is more than three days the Zamfara government denied the report, yet Saharareporters is yet to come back with evidence. Instead, they stylishly deleted the report without any corrigendum or apology. That story alone can set the state or the country on fire. Yet nobody has been held responsible. We need press freedom but that also comes with responsibility on the press. Social responsibility is good when it comes to media freedom.

dominique:
https://guardian.ng/news/northern-can-lauds-zamfara-govts-swift-response-to-christian-ladys-prosecution-claims

helinues:
Yele just decided to lie ridiculously earlier

P1PrinceKT:
Now the young lady loses the opportunity to advance her studies in either US or Canada. Caii

Sodiq3:
No serious journalist will write such report without having a scanned copies of the said case. If you follow Saharareporters well, you will know that if there was such evidence, it will be an accompanying picture with the story. It is more than three days the Zamfara government denied the report, yet Saharareporters is yet to come back with evidence. Instead, they stylishly deleted the report without any corrigendum or apology. That story alone can set the state or the country on fire. Yet nobody has been held responsible. We need press freedom but that also comes with responsibility on the press. Social responsibility is good when it comes to media freedom.

BlackViper:
And what is this nonsense supposed to mean?