Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has said that the killings by boko haram should not be justified, irrespective of the religious affiliation of the victims.
Atiku stated this in reaction to President Muhammadu Buhari’s statement that 90 percent of boko haram victims are Muslims.
Speaking on the death of Lawan Andimi, the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, in Michika Local Government Area of Adamawa State, on Monday, Buhari said in an article that the insurgents are only seeking to use religion to divide Nigerians.
According to Buhari, the killing of the Religious Leader by boko haram, was aimed at pitting Christians against Muslims.
However, reacting via a tweet on Wednesday, Atiku said that the killings should only be “condemned unequivocally”.
Quoting a verse of the Qur’an (chapter 2 verse 256), he stated that religion is about love, and not compulsion.
“We must not rationalise killings. Whether Christian, Muslim, Traditionalist, or Atheist, the killing of any human being, by boko haram, or any misguided group, is wrong, and should be condemned unequivocally. There is no compulsion in religion. Only love”, he tweeted.