Governor Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed of Bauchi State, on Saturday, warned Islamic clerics using their pulpits to incite people of the state to desist from testing the will of the government as nobody, including himself, is above the government and its laws.
He gave the warning when the Emir of Bauchi, Dr. Rilwanu Sulaimanu Adamu, and other title holders of the Bauchi Emirate Council paid him the traditional Sallah homage at the Government House, Bauchi, in a colourful procession, asserting that recent sermons by some of the clerics have become issues of national discourse which have projected the state negatively.
He said his administration was doing everything possible to address the issue administratively by the relevant laws of the land, and all indicted parties would be given a fair hearing.
Mohammed said that he was consulting with the state Chief Judge and Grand Khadi on the appropriate measures the state government should take to tackle cases of incitement by the Islamic preachers without stifling the people’s fundamental rights.
While saying that those found guilty of breaching the relative peace the state is enjoying will be dealt with decisively, Governor Mohammed said no government would fold its arms and watch while few individuals or groups stretch their will to the limit.
Earlier in his remarks, the Emir of Bauchi commended the governor for the visible development he has brought to the state in the last four years and appealed for more infrastructural developments, particularly in rural communities in the state.
The Emir then prayed for peace, unity, love and tranquillity in Bauchi State in particular and Nigeria in general and assured that traditional rulers in the state would continue to play positive roles in the scheme of things.
