Tension in Ilorin over religious crisis

There was tension in the Oke-Odo, Tanke area of Ilorin, the Kwara state capital on Monday, December 2, after Muslims and Christians almost clashed over the use of a structure for worship.

This Day reports that the crisis started when some Muslim youths in the community had resisted a plan by a Christian group to convert a structure meant for another purpose in the area to a worship centre, which nearly resulted in altercation.

A source said the Muslim group saw the action by the Christians as a subtle move to build a church near an existing mosque built almost two decades ago. In order to prevent the structure in question form being turned to a church, some Muslim leaders, earlier reported the issue to security agencies in the event that the structure is turned to a worship centre contrary to the approval it obtained from relevant government agencies.

Sources said the dispute became tensed when Christian worshipers who trooped into the structure with the intention to worship on Christmas day were vehemently resisted by the aggrieved Muslim youths, leading to palpable tension.

However, the tension over the issue was doused when a team of armed policemen was drafted to the scene after some leaders of the Christian group reported the incident to the police at ‘F’ Division, Tanke. Normalcy was restored after the arrival of the police team.

But the general secretary, As-Sunnah Academy of Da’wah and Research, Alhaji Musa Jibril Sahban, alleged that the Christian group planned to cause mayhem with their intention to start worshiping in the structure. His allegations were contained in a letter to the Department of State Services (DSS). Culled from www.naij.com