President Buhari has appealed to Christians in Nigeria not
to allow execution by the Islamic State West Africa Province, turn them against
Muslims.
The president said this in reaction to a fresh video
released by the terrorist group, showing the killing of some Christians in
captivity. ISWAP said the government had failed to successfully negotiate their
release, which led to their execution.
President Buhari in a statement by his Senior Special
Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said he was saddened and shocked
by the death of innocent hostages in the hands of ''remorseless, godless,
callous gangs of mass murderers that have given Islam a bad name through their
atrocities.'
He said,
“We should, under no circumstance, let the terrorists divide
us by turning Christians against Muslims because these barbaric killers don't
represent Islam and millions of other law-abiding Muslims around the
world.
“As a President, the collective security of all Nigerians is
my major preoccupation and the death of an innocent Christian or Muslim
distresses me.
“No true Muslim would be shouting 'Allahu Akbar’ while
killing innocent people, an evil frequently condemned by the Holy Qur'an. These
agents of darkness are enemies of our common humanity and they don't spare any
victim, whether they are Muslims or Christians, and therefore, we shouldn't let
them divide us and turn us against one another."
Speaking further, Buhari called on all Nigerians to be
united against terrorists and avoid unhelpful conspiracy theories that serve
the interest of Boko Haram terrorists and ISWAP.
