Community Leaders, NGO Decry Extra-Judicial Killings

A peace organisation under the auspices of Global Peace Foundation Nigeria (GPFN) and the Community Initiative for Enlightenment, Morality and Value System have called for respect for the sanctity of human life, saying nobody has the right to take another person’s life under any circumstance.

The organisations during an online seminar on Thursday condemned the rising cases of mob action, ritual killings and religious violence in the country, stressing that life remained the most sacred and inviolable right of every citizen.

Country director of GPFN, Rev John Joseph Hayab, condemned the recent killing of a woman in Niger State over alleged blasphemy, describing the act as a direct affront to peace and the rule of law.

Hayab lamented that life has lost its value in Nigeria because of the frequency with which killings occur and urged the government to rise to its responsibility by ensuring that perpetrators of such crimes are brought to justice.

He further appealed to Nigerians to consider the grief inflicted on families and communities whenever a life is cut short unjustly.

“If you do not want to die, then don’t kill another person. The government must wake up because every life is precious. Anybody that takes a life should not go free but be prosecuted. Life should be a source of joy to others, not pain and sorrow,” he said.

Similarly, the national director of the Community Initiative for Enlightenment, Morality and Value System, Rev. Dr. Kehinde Babarinde, urged Nigerians to embrace peace and harmony by rejecting hooliganism, ritual killings, political thuggery and other acts that undermine human dignity.

“The pain, widowhood and destruction that come from violence should teach us to pursue peace.

Our society must not be defined by killings but by values that uplift humanity,” Babarinde said.

National chief imam of Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society, Imam Fuad Adeyemi, said life is a divine trust from Almighty Allah which must not be violated under any guise.

He said Islam forbids abortion from the stage of pregnancy, as a foetus is already regarded as a life.

“Life is not your own; it belongs to Allah. Only a constituted authority can pronounce capital punishment, not a crowd on the street,” he said.

He added that even accidental killings attract severe atonement in Islam, including fasting for 60 days and the payment of blood money, currently valued at N285 million, which demonstrates how much Allah treasures life.

Adeyemi warned that those who kill in the name of religion misrepresent Islam, noting that the faith does not compel anyone to practice it.

He recalled that in the Prophet’s time, Christians conducted their service inside the Medina mosque, which underscored Islam’s tolerance.

Other contributors, including legal practitioner Deacon Olusegun Afolaranmi, stressed that only the court of law has the constitutional authority to pronounce death sentences.

He warned that mob justice not only undermines the justice system but also poses a grave threat to national security.

At the end of the deliberations, the seminar resolved that enlightenment, moral reawakening, and stronger enforcement of the rule of law are critical to preserving life as the cornerstone of peace and stability in Nigeria.