The Executive Assistant to the Delta State Governor on Religious Matters, Bishop Greatman Nmalagu has debunked allegation of imprisoning seven Muslim leaders and warned against rumour mongering in a bid to get cheap publicity.
Reacting to allegations that he forcefully imprisoned seven Moslem leaders, Alhaji Abubakar Mumakai, Alhaji Wasiu Udi, Alhaji Jubril Jenje, Alhaji Mohammed Kiti, Alhaji Ibrahim Miphoro, Alhaji Yusuf Eregbene and Alhaji Mohammadu Okotie in his office, Bishop Nmalagu described such allegations as laughable as his office was not a Police cell and he was with the said Prisoners throughout the period they were in his office.
“We are preaching religious tolerance and as religious men, we should shun actions capable of heating up the polity,” he said, adding, “as the Executive Assistant on Religious Matters, people visits my office for different issues that has to do with religion, and the visit by our Moslem Brothers was not an exception.”
He added, “it is however sad that they are alleging that I imprisoned them, how can that be possible when I was with them throughout the period they were in my office? Does it mean I was also a Prisoner? Who locked the door?”
Bishop Nmalagu who declined to state the purpose of the visit of the Moslem leaders to his office, emphasized, “they visited me like any other religious man or woman and what we discussed was not for public consumption because our mission is to have a stable state devoid of religious bickering.”
“Naturally, there are issues which are still trying to tackle but threat of blackmail cannot help anybody if we must achieve the desired result, I will still reach out to them because, such is very necessary but, we must be tolerant of one another and never insist that our views are superior to that of others,” he reiterated, adding, “there must be give and take in the true spirit of democracy and to say people were imprisoned in my office for 30 minutes? We spent more than one hour and after the meeting, we took a group photograph, so, at what point were they imprisoned because, they even came to the meeting with security men and journalists who videoed everything that happened.”
