Election: Southern Kaduna Christians, Muslims sign peace pact

The Southern Kaduna Christian Leaders Association says it has signed a pact with the Council of Imams and Ulama to promote peace in the region ahead of the 2023 general election.

According to a statement signed on Monday by the Chairman, Southern Kaduna Christian Leaders, Apostle Emmanuel Kure, and Chief Imam Dr. Muhammad Kassim, the pact was agreed to encourage Muslims and Christians in the region to shun violence, embrace dialogue and remain committed to the pact before, during and after the 2023 general election.

The two organisations explained that the religious leaders signed the Memorandum of Understanding as a mark of their commitment towards sustaining peaceful coexistence for the progress of the area.

“Stakeholders of both Christians and Muslims are committed to the promotion of peaceful co-existence among communities in Southern Kaduna, Kaduna State, and Nigeria.

“The two religious groups with their members have collectively and individually agreed to ensure that the 2023 general election is violence-free, noting that even if crisis erupts in other places, they’ll jointly ensure that it does not consume the region and their members are not involved.

“This Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), therefore, articulates the participants shared objectives in support of a crisis-free 2023 in the general election in Southern Kaduna, and their respective undertakings.

“Anyone who attempts to aid outsiders to create or start a crisis, we will jointly release our members to protect the land from both external and internal troubles before, during and after the 2023 general election,” the group stated.

Adding, “The MOU was also to establish a basis for ongoing dialogue and cooperation between the participants, so that future interventions and areas of mutual interest may be brought under this framework.”