Nigerian officials call for peace after Muslim mob kills Christian woman

ABUJA, Nigeria—The Northern chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) on Saturday condemned the killing of a Christian petty trader in Kano state after a Muslim man accused her of blasphemy. Nigerian peace groups said the unusually swift response from Nigerian authorities could help prevent the incident from escalating into a larger crisis.

Bridget Agbahime, 74, worked as a kitchen utensil vendor in Kano city’s Kofar Wambai Market. According to Nigerian media sources, a religious dispute ensued between Agbahime and one suspect, Dauda Ahmed, when Agbahime asked him on Thursday not to complete his Islamic ritual cleansing in front of her store. Ahmed and Agbahime had engaged in other altercations in the past, and Ahmed left upset as the argument got heated and a crowd began to gather.

But he returned with some other Muslims and accused Agbahime of blaspheming against the prophet Muhammad. The mob overpowered the few police officials present and killed the woman. More police officials arrived before the mob could kill her husband, Pastor Mike Agbahime, who was also present.

Nigerian police on Saturday said they arrested Ahmed and another suspect, Subeiru Abubakar. Police spokesman Kolawole Olabisi, said in a statement a deputy inspector general will take over the investigation.

“We got it on good authority that the slain woman never blasphemed the prophet Mohammed,” CAN’s spokesman, Rev. John Hayab, said at a Saturday press conference.“We are saying the mere arrest of the key suspect of this barbaric act is not enough. All those that perpetuated the killing of the innocent woman must be fished out and brought to the book.”

The attack triggered a mass outcry from many Nigerians as the news flooded local radio and TV stations and appeared on Facebook’s trending list early Monday morning. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari condemned the attack and cautioned Nigerians who may use the incident as a trigger for acts of religious hatred.

Kano’s governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, held a meeting shortly after the incident with CAN’s chairman, Agbahime’s husband, some Islamic scholars, and security agencies, in an attempt to dissipate any growing tension between the religious groups.

Pastor James Wuye, the co-executive director of Interfaith Mediation Center in Nigeria’s northern Kaduna state said he worried the incident could trigger a widespread crisis: “We have our concerns.”

In response, the mediation center organized a meeting between leaders of the predominantly Christian southeast and the majority Muslim northeast to discuss the way forward following the killing. The response efforts by security and government officials also could go a long way in ensuring some peace, Wuye added.

“I think they’ve prevented a major crisis in Nigeria,” he said. “The death of one should not result in the death of millions.”

Nigeria’s population is split almost evenly between Christianity and Islam. The surge of Islamic extremist group Boko Haram has heightened tensions between the two religious groups, especially in the predominantly Islamic northeast. On Friday, a coalition of 14 Christian groups accused Buhari of attempting to turn Nigeria into an Islamic state. The accusation follows a possible constitutional amendmentthat will allow Sharia appellate courts to oversee criminal cases, including cases that carry the death penalty.