THE WOMAN KILLED FOR INSULTING THE RELIGION

Nigerian Christians
demand protection
after woman killed for
insulting Islam
Christians in Nigeria's mainly
Muslim north have demanded
authorities do more to protect
them after a woman was
stabbed over an alleged
religious dispute. President
Mohammadu Buhari has
pleaded for religious tolerance.
Nigerian authorities said 74-
year-old Bridget Abahime, an
ethnic Igbo trader and wife of
a pastor, was "mobbed and
extra-judicially murdered" on
Thursday at a market in Kano,
Nigeria's largest northern city.
Following reports that the
woman was killed over a
perceived insult on Prophet
Muhammad, the northern
chapter of the Christian
Association of Nigeria said
police are not doing enough to
protect Christians and warned
Saturday of a "looming
religious crisis."
Such attacks have historically
led to retaliations and
sectarian violence.
"This barbarism must stop
now," said the association's
spokesman, Rev. John Hayab.
He accused police of trying to
cover up the killing.
Nigeria's national police chief
Solomon Arase said Saturday
that two suspects had been
arrested, and appealed for
calm on all sides. He added
security forces were being
deployed to Kano - the site of
previous sectarian clashes - to
prevent the incident from
"degenerating into a major
security threat."
Nigerian Muslim
groups denounce killing
"The Muslim Rights Concern
strongly condemns this
gruesome murder," the group
said in a statement. "It is
preposterous, barbaric and
unIslamic."
Meanwhile, Nigeria's President
Mohammadu Buhari called the
killing "utterly condemnable"
and vowed that the
perpetrators would be brought
to justice.
"Let us ensure that we keep
the peace, as justice will be
done," Buhari said in a
statement."Let us learn to
respect each other's faith, so
that we can know each other
and live together in peace."
Nigeria's 170 million people are
divided almost equally
between Christians mainly in
the south and Muslims
predominantly in the north.
The northern region has been
the scene of religious violence
in the past . In one gruesome
case in 1996, an Igbo Christian
trader was beheaded by
suspected Muslim youths who
had accused him of desecrating
the Koran.
His severed head was impaled
on a spike and paraded around
the city.