BY Ebere Agozie
Some religious leaders, scholars, media professionals, civil society actors, and community representatives has called for tolerance, justice and freedom of belief in Nigeria.
The stakeholders made the call in Abuja at a landmark stakeholders’ meeting organized by Faith and Freedom Africa to address rising concerns over religious intolerance, extremism, and the protection of Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in Nigeria.
Mr Felix Samari, Country Contractor for Faith and Freedom Africa said the programme was to build a network of informed FoRB ambassadors capable of driving interfaith dialogue and advocacy across Nigeria.
“The meeting is providing platforms for robust conversations on promoting peaceful coexistence, justice, and mutual respect among Nigerians, irrespective of their religious affiliations.
“This is why we bring in resource persons from diverse sectors to advance FoRB and counter the political manipulation of religion, which we have agreed has fueled divisions across the country’’.
Sheikh Nurudeen Lemu, Director of Research and Training at the Islamic Education Trust reiterated the need for justice and tolerance in religious practice.
He warned against the use of faith as a tool for division, and called on Nigerians to embrace diversity.
“True religion is justice, and God always stands with the victim, we encourage leaders to discourage extremism and reject imposing personal biases on divine will’’.
Prof. Gloria Puldu of the University of Jos stressed that Christianity does not support coercion of faith.
She urged Nigerians to tolerate one another and allow all religions to freely practice their beliefs, calling on government authorities to punish violators of religious rights.
Mrs Ebere Agozie of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) called for mutual respect, proper regulation of religious leadership, and value-driven parenting to tackle intolerance from the grassroots.
Dr Daud Abubakar, Director of the Daud Research Institute warned against elevating one religion above another.
He advocated strict monitoring of religious sermons to curb hate speech and political exploitation of faith, citing lessons from Sudan.
The stakeholders underscored the critical role of the media and education in shaping public attitudes and fostering inclusivity.
They equally encouraged journalists to promote balanced reporting and positive interfaith narratives while recommending the integration of FoRB principles into school curricula to instill empathy and respect among young Nigerians.
A major highlight of the event was the launch of the FoRB Micro-Course, an online training initiative.
The meeting ended with participants pledging to promote justice, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence.
