‘Boko Haram not defending Islam’

Chief Imam of Benin, Edo State, Mallam Abdul-Fatai Enabulele, has said the Boko Haram sect negates all that Islam stands for. He spoke on Monday at a stakeholders meeting organised by the Edo State Police Command in Benin.
Enabulele described the problem in northern Nigeria as “a long term manipulation and double standard.”
It will be recalled that a suspected gunman, who reportedly took part in last week’s shooting at a Deeper Life Church in Okene, Kogi State, were traced to Ibillo, Akoko-Edo Local Government Area in Edo, where they had gone to seek treatment for bullet wounds sustained during a shootout with the police.
Enabulele said Muslims in the state would pay courtesy visit on the leadership of the state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria, after the Ramadan period.
He said, “The problem in northern Nigeria is that of long term manipulations and double standard.
“Boko Haram has never fought for Islam. Beginning from the days of the prophet in Medina and Mecca, he preached Islam with diplomacy. There is nothing like western knowledge, so knowledge is knowledge, which is why Islam told us that knowledge is continuous.
“Let me assure everybody that in Edo State, we‘ll never collaborate, support or tolerate Boko Haram or kill.”