Lagos Warns Hate Preachers; Appeals For Inter-Faith Tolerance

Posted by African Examiner Lagos, Latest Headlines, News, News From The State Wednesday, November 18th, 2015

By Ayo Balogun

The Lagos State Commissioner for Home Affairs, Dr. Abdul-Hakeem Abdul-Lateef has restated resolve of the State Government to resist hate preaching from Christian or Muslim Clerics, reputed for falsehood and spreading mischief about another faith.

The Commissioner disclosed this Tuesday at a Press Briefing organized by the Ministry to commemorate the “International Day For Tolerance”, a day set aside by United Nations General Assembly in 1996 to mark the mounting threat posed by the religion faithful, who promote division among communities.

Dr. Abdul Lateef said the present administration decided to mark the day, in order to promote peaceful co-existence among the religious groups, encourage religion tolerance, respect and dialogue among residents of the state, especially in view of the recent sad incident of terrorist attack in Paris, France.

According to him, “The commemoration of a day like this is a reminder to everyone to be tolerant in our relationships, particularly when one considers the increasing insecurity and threat of terrorism around the world”.

While sympathizing with the people of France on the unfortunate incident, the Commissioner explained that the recent event underscored the decision of the State to collaborate with the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) to hold quarterly Inter-faith conference from next year.

The forum he indicated would provide a platform for religious bodies and other stakeholders in the State to deliberate on issues of tolerance and peaceful co-existence among the residents, irrespective of their ethnic tribes and religion faith.