Gunmen attacked a mosque at Ugelli, Delta State, yesterday 2nd December 2022. They shot eleven Muslim worshippers and kidnapped the Imam. Meanwhile, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has condemned the attack. The group called on security agents to fish out the perpetrators and rescue the abducted Imam.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Saturday, 3rd December 2022 by the director of MURIC, Professor Ishaq Akintola.
The statement reads:
“The Imam of Ughelli Central Mosque, Mallam Muhammadu Sani, was yesterday whisked away by gunmen who attacked the mosque. Eleven worshippers were also shot. The gunmen stormed the Mosque located at Otovwievwiere Street in Okorodafe axis of Ughelli by 6 am yesterday, Friday, 2nd December 2022.
“This is a dastardly act that must be condemned by all right-thinking people and we condemn it in the strongest terms. It is another evidence of hate crimes targeted at Muslims in the South East in recent times. It will be recalled that the Secretary of the Delta State Muslim Council, Mallam Musa Ugasa, a resident of Ughelli, was brutally killed earlier this year by yet-to-be-identified persons.
“Those who claim that only Christians are being killed in Nigeria have many questions to answer. Shaykh Ibrahim Iyiorji was killed in Isu, Onicha Local Government of Ebonyi State on 4th September 2022. Seven Muslims were killed in Orogie, Owerri, Imo State on 5th August 2022.
“Another four Muslims were killed in Umuaka, near Orlu on 4th April 2021. Again, another set of eleven innocent Muslims were mowed down by gunmen in Port Harcourt and Orlu on 20th October 2020. Five other Muslims were also killed near the popular Abraka market in Asaba, Delta State on 15th September 2017. The list is endless.
“The latest attack on Ughelli Central Mosque is one too many. MURIC calls on the Commissioner of Police in Delta State Ari Muhammed Ali, to fish out the perpetrators. Muslims have become endangered species not only in Delta State but in the entire South East. The trend must be arrested.”