Yobe CAN Disassociate Self from Daybreak Online Media, Publication Alleging Forceful Conversion of 30 Christian Teenage Girls into Islam
By Mohammed Dala Lawan
Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Yobe State has disassociated itself from the news published on 6th September 2024 by the Daybreak online media, alleging that about 30 Christian teenage girls have been abducted and forcefully converted to Islam by an Islamic jihadist group linked to the State Ministry of Religious Affairs.
Reacting to the allegation in Damaturu, the state CAN Secretary, Rev. Ibrahim Kure Abagu, said the association has no idea about the report.
Speaking on behalf of the association, the secretary explained that CAN has no official records concerning 30 Christian teenage girls abducted and forcefully converted to Islam in the state.
Rev. Abaku further called on the general public to disregard the information, saying that it has no base.
“We in totality condemned the act of publication because it doesn’t represent what we stand for”. Rev.Abagu added.
He, therefore, Pledged the commitment that CAN is prepared for peaceful coexistence to support the Government and the Ministry of Religious Affairs in carrying out its activities that would bring more peace between Muslims and Christians in Yobe State.
Responding on behalf of the state Ministry of Religious Affairs and Ethical Reorientation, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Yusuf Hassan Yusuf, described the fake news as a threat to the living peace that exists between Muslim and Christian communities in the state.
He explained that the ministry has no other Islamic group attached to it, as mentioned by the publisher of the false allegation.
The Permanent Secretary pointed out that the primary objective of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Ethical Reorientation is to monitor the activities of all religions in the state.
Hassan Yusuf further disclosed that the ministry, in collaboration with the Security Agencies, Traditional Rulers and the Nigeria Union of Journalists, will work towards ensuring that perpetrators of the ugly act have been fished out and punished according to the law.
The Chairman of Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Yobe State Council Comrade Rajab Mohammed, says the NUJ has its ethics of profession that don’t allow anyone to write on something that never happens
He added that the case will be forwarded to the NUJ national secretariat for proper action.
