We won’t allow B’Haram infiltrate Abia —Muslim cleric

The Chief Imam of Abia State, Sheikh Ali Ukiwo, has assured the state residents that Muslims in the state will not allow members of the dreaded Islamic sect, Boko Haram, to infiltrate the state.
The Muslim cleric, who gave the assurance in Umuahia on Monday when he led a delegation of Muslims in the state to Governor Theodore Orji for a Sallah homage, explained that Boko Haram was un-Islamic.
He noted that the assurance had become necessary following anxiety and unfounded speculations in parts of the state that members of the terror group had infiltrated Abia and some other south-eastern states.
Renouncing the barbaric activities of the sect, the Sheikh said, “Boko Haram is a satanic group. We don’t know where they are coming from.”
He, therefore, appealed to members of the public to stop associating Boko Haram members with Muslims.
Ukiwo said, “They are enemies of Nigeria, which we must all unite to resist. Else, they will cause division among us and impose their evil agenda on the country. Ninety per cent of their victims are Muslims; 90 per cent of those in the refugee camps are Muslims. Then if they are Muslims, why are they killing their brothers?”
The cleric submitted that instead of trading blames, Nigerians, irrespective of their religious divides, should rather unite in the fight against terror; otherwise, the terrorists and their sponsors would achieve their evil agenda, which he noted, was to disintegrate the country.
Applauding Orji for the Sallah items he donated to the Muslim community as well as the state government’s Youth Empowerment Scheme, which he said, had helped in reducing crime through positive engagement of youths, the Sheik, however, appealed to the governor to also extend the empowerment gesture to Muslims.
Responding, Orji, represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr. Cosmos Ndukwe, advised Muslims in the state to continue to live in peace with their host communities, assuring that the state government would not discriminate against them.
He called for peaceful co- existence of Nigerians despite their divergent religious views, while condemning the atrocities of Boko Haram.