Barring any federal intervention, the already tensed Nigeria may be thrown into a serious religious crisis if Zainab Muhammadu is allowed to be killed in accordance with the Sharia law in Zamfara state.
According to reports, Zainab, a 22 years old lady could be executed by Friday for converting from Islam to Christianity in Zamfara.
It was gathered that Zainab Muhammadu got close to an NYSC member posted to her community, she piqued interest in his mannerism and eventually converted to his religion of Christianity.
Somehow, the story travelled, then she got arrested.
Zainab will be appearing in Sharia court this Friday for trial, where she faces capital punishment for her offense, which is seen as treason in most Muslim communities, according to Sahih al-Bukhari, 9:84:57
“Whoever changes his religion, kill him.”
She could be sentenced to death for apostasy, the act of renouncing Islam.
Now, according to the origin of the story, the corp member, Pastor Samuel, is at risk.
Human rights lawyers have tried to move her case to a civil court, since she’s no longer a Muslim, but it hasn’t been successful.
Nigerians are collectively condemning this including Muslims.
Some Muslims have argued that renouncing Islam is not illegal or an offense in Islam (Surah Al-Baqarah: 2:256).
Most Nigerians who took to social media platforms to express their displeasures said Zainab shouldn’t be tried in a Muslim court since she’s no longer a Muslim.
“She ceases from being a Moslem the day she was converted to Christianity and therefore must not be tried in a Muslim court”, Jackson stated during a WhatsApp conversation on one of the platforms where the issue was discussed.
Also contributing, Glory said “We have had enough of killings of Nigerians in the North in the guise of religious extremism. If anything happens to Zainab, there certainly going to be a very serious protest and no one would tell how long it would last”.
