By Our correspondent
In a twist of events, Kaduna based journalist who is the head of bureau of Daybreak Nigeria newspaper, Mr. Gabriel Idibia, has narrated how he was falsely accused of blasphemy and forced to flee Kaduna for fear for his life.
The accusation arose after Mr Gabriel Idibia shared a viral video featuring Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of a prominent figure in Hamas.
The controversy according to Mr Idibia unfolded last Friday morning in Kaduna, coinciding with Jumat prayer. It was mainly instigated by some of his Muslim journalist colleagues, including a former chairman of the Kaduna State council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) and others who practice the Islamic faith.
The incident began when Gabriel shared the video titled “Son of Hamas Exposes Muhammad” in the general WhatsApp group of Kaduna journalists on a Thursday evening. The video was both audible and visually clear, with Mosab Hassan Yousef addressing like-minded Muslims about the history of intolerance in Islam and its leader.
In the approximately 15-minute video, Yousef extensively discussed religious intolerance in Islam, connecting it to the teachings of Prophet Muhammad’s jihad.
He stated that he shared the video not for any other reason but to alert his colleagues so that they can have the opportunity for a healthy debate on the subject since the group was made up of journalists who ordinarily are shapers of opinion.
“As journalist we are enlightened individuals who l believe can have healthy debates without resort to primordial or religious sentimemts” He said.
He said he was however surprised to, discover that by Friday morning he had been removed from the Kaduna journalists’ WhatsApp group, which had become a battleground of reactions and counter-reactions focused on his person.
While some colleagues, including the current council chairman, tried to mediate with his Muslim counterparts, others insisted on holding him accountable for what they considered blasphemous actions.
“I was shocked and traumatized as my intentions were clearly misconstrued”
According to him, a few Christian journalist colleagues who supported his views suggested that he should be cautioned and forgiven, while some Muslim colleagues argued that sharing the video amounted to blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad and he should be dealt with
The group chat was filled with anger, criticism, hate comments, and outright insults and threats to his life.
“Some of my colleagues who were more considerate advised that i should flee Kaduna immediately due to the growing threats and insults from both Muslim journalists and some non-journalists”.
Below are some of the statement on the whatsapp plateform forwarded to me by sympathetic colleagues who advised me to flee Kaduna:
– “This is blasphemous against the personality of Prophet Muhammad. It’s a hate speech in the highest order; sharing something like this goes beyond journalism, it’s an act of terrorism, bigotry, and hatred.”
– “Not only is the speech a total slander, but the person who shared it (Mr. Idibia) is committing a serious offensive act against the religion of Islam and Muslims. As such, I call on Mr. Idibia to immediately remove this item from this platform and tender an apology without hesitation!”
– “I really want to understand High Chief’s intentions in posting this. He should not only delete it but tender an apology.”
– “It’s really unfortunate that the speaker, who himself does not understand Islam and the history of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), has become an authority for gullible people to slander Islam.”
– “Dear colleagues, please let’s not allow the devil’s advocate to be a hindrance to our peace. We should not reshare this anywhere to avoid any untoward incidents. The admin should also remove Idibia immediately from this platform.”
As tensions escalated, Mr Gabriel said he found himself at the center of a deadly conspiracy that extended beyond the realm of journalism. Christian and Muslim colleagues clashed over the video’s content, with the former emphasizing freedom of expression and others insisting it was blasphemy.
Mr Idibia said he feared for his safety, having received numerous calls from individuals unconnected to the media who learned of the situation and began making threats against him.
” Presently, l am in hiding and l cant even disclose my whereabout to my family for fear of repriasal. And giving the seriousness of the matter, l am calling on security operatives and the federal government and relevant authorities to come to my aid.
“It is also pertinent that a lasting legal frameworks to address blasphemy in Nigeria is found. This would help prevent reckless attacks and violence in the name of defending religious beliefs against innocent citizens”. He said.
It would be recalled that similar incidents have occurred in Nigeria in the past, with tragic consequences. Deborah Samuel Yakubu a second year christian college student in Shehu Shagari College of Education, in Sokoto, state of Nigeria similarly faced accusations of blasphemy in a WhatsApp group chat in May 2022. She was hunted down by her accusers and brutally murdered till date her accusers are walking free without consequence.
