Kaduna State's Governor El-rufai Abolishes night vigils, Christmas, Easter and New Year Observation by Christians

Kaduna state’s Governor El-rufai abolishes night vigil, Christmas, Easter and New Year observance by Christians

Governor Nasiru El-rufai is with his Kaduna State Religious Preaching Regulation Law effectively banning night vigil, Christmas eve, Easter and New year eve celebration for christians, says Istifanus Daniel of the Coalition of Christians with Conscience (CCC), Kaduna.

In a statement signed by Daniel and the Secretary of the coalition, Paul Musa, the coalition said that the law, which is termed, The Kaduna State Religious Preaching Regulation Law, 2019,
contains several areas that will directly affect the worship mode of Christians in Kaduna State.
A part of its provisions criminalizes _”Any person who plays a religious cassette or uses a loud speaker for religious purposes between the hours of 11pm and 4am._ ”

This is very disturbing as it means that Christians cannot hold night vigils, celebrate Christmas, Easter and New year eve in the evenings which fall typically within those hours. The provision is also divisive as our Muslim brothers are allowed to say their prayers at 5am after the ban for Christians.

That this law seeks to ‘accredit preachers’ and appoint regulators of faith means that it is the state government that will determine what is preached or not. Has the state purged itself of its own political woes as to move into the sphere of faith? Surely, we are not in a theocracy but a democracy.

The state and faith must be well separated. It is surprising that politicians who use thugs and take over the streets with loudspeakers do not have laws that will regulate them yet think that worshippers are the people to be regulated.