The Kaduna State Government today explained that the Religious Preaching Bill aims to protect the state from religious extremism and hate speech. Architect Barnabas Yusuf Bala, the Deputy Governor of the state, told a delegation of the Kaduna State CAN that the government has a duty to ensure that religious violence no longer threatens the state. He said that the Kaduna State Government is always committed to ensuring that religion can be practiced in a safe and secure climate and there is no going back on the bill.
“We swore to uphold the Constitution which recognizes the freedom of religion and thought as fundamental rights. The same Constitution obliges us to ensure the safe exercise of these rights by legislating in the interest of public safety, public order, public morality or public health, and for the purpose of protecting the rights and freedom of other persons.
“This is not a new law. It has existed since 1984, with amendments in 1987 and 1996. The military governments which created the law were responding to outbreaks of religious violence such as Maitatsine in 1983; the riots after the Kafanchan incidence of 1987.
“This is the first time that the
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