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Modi calls for calm as Delhi riots kill 20

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for calm Wednesday after Delhi’s worst sectarian violence in decades left at least 20 people dead and calls for a military curfew.

This week’s battles between Hindus and Muslims have seen mobs armed with swords, guns and acid raze a northeastern district of the Indian capital.

Pakistani anti-military activist released after bail

The clashes, which also left almost 200 injured, were triggered by protests against a citizenship law seen by many critics as anti-Muslim and part of Modi’s Hindu nationalist agenda.

They exploded into brutal violence on Monday and Tuesday, with residents forced to flee their homes after seeing their homes destroted and a mosque attacked.

“I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times. It is important… calm and normalcy is restored at the earliest,” Modi tweeted on Wednesday.

Delhi’s chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, a political opponent, called for the army to be deployed and for a curfew to be imposed over the flashpoint areas.

“Police, despite all its efforts, (are) unable to control situation and instil confidence,” Kejriwal tweeted.

– Fear, anger –

Sunil Kumar, the director of the hospital where many of the wounded were taken, told AFP on Wednesday that almost 60 had gunshot injuries.

On Wednesday morning residents cleaned out the blackened interior of a trashed mosque, including a charred Koran, burned out during the violence in the Ashok Nagar area.

A video circulated on social media and verified by AFP showed men ripping off the muezzin’s loudspeaker on top of the mosque’s minaret and installing a Hindu religious flag.

Locals accused the police of doing nothing to help — or worse.

“We tried to make many calls to the police… that people are entering our neighbourhoods chanting ‘Jai Shree Ram’,” said Naeem Malik, referring to a popular Hindu chant.

“But police did not help us at all. We tried to save the women at the protest site but instead policemen started beating us up,” Malik said, showing wounds on his leg and hands.

Elsewhere a fire engine tried to put out blazes from the previous night, the air thick with smoke from still-smouldering cars, motorbikes, shops and homes.

“They say we are not Indians but we are Indians by blood,” Farhat, 22, a student in Islamic studies, said in her father’s shop as police looked on.

“We are afraid, we left our homes. There is no police in the streets at night, just during the day.”

The area is home to mostly poorer economic migrants living in many shanty neighbourhoods, and some fled on Wednesday ahead of more expected clashes.

“It is better to leave than to stick around here. Why would we want to die here?,” a tailor told AFP, adding that he was returning home to his village in northern India.

– ‘Politics of hate’ –

The unrest comes amid growing concerns at home and abroad about the direction of India and the future of its 200 million Muslims since Modi’s Hindu nationalist BJP swept to a second term last year.

Sonia Gandhi, president of the opposition Congress party, on Wednesday accused BJP figures of giving “inflammatory speeches spreading an atmosphere of hatred and fear”, including in Delhi city elections this month.

Congress “appeals to the people to reject the politics of hate,” Gandhi said, calling Home Minister Amit Shah, Modi’s close ally, “responsible” for the riots.

Since winning a second term, Modi’s government has revoked the partial autonomy of Kashmir, India’s only Muslim-majority state, and said it wants to conduct a nationwide citizens’ register to weed out “infiltrators”.

Together with the citizenship law, which fast-tracks claims for persecuted non-Muslim religious immigrants, this has stoked fears that Modi’s master plan is to remould India as a Hindu nation, something he denies.

The citizenship law has sparked months of nationwide protests as well as clashes that killed more than 25 people in December.

In recent weeks sit-ins, mostly by women, have sprung up.

The flare-up in violence occurred as US President Donald Trump visited India and held talks with Modi in Delhi on Tuesday. But Trump left as scheduled on Tuesday and his visit was not visibly interrupted by the violence.

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Hon. Hafiz Kawu Calls for Unity, Highlights Tinubu and Governor Yusuf’s Achievements in Kano

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Hon. Hafiz Kawu, Honourable Commissioner at PENCOM, has urged APC supporters and faithfuls in Kano State to rally behind the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf. Speaking live during a radio program in Kano, Hon. Kawu OON, MNI delivered a compelling message of reconciliation and renewed commitment to the ruling party’s vision for development.

In his remarks, Hon. Kawu emphasized the importance of President Tinubu’s administration to Kano’s progress, pointing to several landmark projects that have reshaped the state’s infrastructure and economic outlook. He cited the Abuja–Kaduna–Kano Expressway reconstruction and the dualization of the Kano–Kongolom Road as evidence of federal commitment to easing transportation and boosting trade. He also highlighted the modernization of the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport and the approval of the Kano Light Rail project as transformative investments in transportation.

Hon. Kawu further pointed to the AKK Gas Pipeline as a strategic investment that will power industries, create jobs, and strengthen Kano’s role as a commercial hub. He noted that the appointments of Kano indigenes into key federal positions demonstrate the President’s recognition of Kano’s strategic importance in national politics.

Turning to state-level initiatives, Hon. Kawu praised Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s urban renewal and rural connectivity projects, including the construction of the Dan Agundi Interchange, the Tal’udu Cloverleaf Overpass, and the revival of 5KM roads across 44 local governments. He described these projects as complementary to federal efforts, ensuring that both urban and rural communities benefit from development.

Addressing internal party divisions, Hon. Kawu noted: “This is the time to set aside differences and return to the fold. The projects we see today are only the beginning of greater things to come under APC leadership. Unity is the key to victory, and victory is the key to sustaining development.”

His live radio broadcast blended detailed references to federal achievements under President Tinubu with state-level initiatives under Governor Yusuf, leaving listeners with a clear message: Kano’s future is tied to APC’s success, and every supporter has a role to play in securing that future.

As the broadcast concluded, Hon. Kawu emphasized that cohesion across the APC structure remains the decisive factor in the political contest ahead. He stressed that only a united APC — working seamlessly from the grassroots to the national stage — can secure victories across all levels of governance and sustain the momentum of development. His words positioned unity not as a plea, but as a strategic imperative for the party’s continued dominance and for the progress of Kano and Nigeria at large.

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Nigeria Is Not a Muslim Country — Rev Dachomo Counters Sheikh Jingir

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The Regional Chairman of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State, Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, has rejected comments by Islamic cleric, Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir, that Nigeria is a Muslim country.

Jingir had reportedly made the remarks during a programme in Kano State over the weekend while expressing support for the continuation of a Muslim-Muslim political arrangement.

The cleric argued that Muslims constitute the majority in Nigeria and should therefore have the opportunity to lead the country. He also reportedly referred to Christians as infidels and suggested that Christians who were unhappy with the arrangement could leave the country.

Reacting in a statement on Tuesday, Dachomo strongly opposed the comments, insisting that Nigeria is a multi-religious nation and “is not and can never be a Muslim country.”

The COCIN chairman cautioned Jingir and other religious leaders against making statements capable of deepening religious divisions or creating hostility between Christians and Muslims.

Dachomo argued that political leadership should not be determined by religious numerical strength but by competence, justice, good governance and the ability to protect the lives and property of all Nigerians.

“Nigeria is a multi-religious country in which Muslims and Christians have historically participated in the political process and contributed to the development of the nation,” he said.

He urged religious leaders to exercise caution when commenting on political matters, particularly issues capable of affecting relations between religious communities.

According to him, linking political leadership to religious majority could create the impression that one faith has greater ownership of Nigeria than another.

“I urge religious leaders to be mindful of their public statements, particularly when discussing politics and issues capable of affecting relations between different religious communities,” Dachomo added.

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Muslim-Muslim ticket: No regret over my statement – Sheikh Jingir

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Islamic cleric and leader of the Izala Scholars Council, Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir, has stood his ground over his Muslim-Muslim ticket comments and description of Christians as “infidels.”

Speaking in an interview with the BBC, Jingir said he had no regrets over his recent declaration of support for a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket, despite the criticism trailing the statement.

He said his position was not politically motivated or intended to campaign for President Bola Tinubu, but was based on what he described as his responsibility as a Muslim.

According to the Islamic cleric, he would continue to support and encourage Muslims to back a Muslim-Muslim ticket, regardless of the criticism his position might attract.

“I have no regrets. I will continue to support and encourage the Muslim-Muslim ticket. What they say will not stop me. They started it; at a point, we suffered in their hands,” he alleged.

DAILY POST recalls that Jingir, during a mass wedding organised by the Kano State Government for 1,500 couples, declared his support for the Muslim-Muslim arrangement and urged Muslims to vote in a manner that would demonstrate their numerical strength in the country.

He further stated that, as a Muslim preacher, he had the right to advocate a political arrangement that was consistent with his religious convictions.

The cleric also challenged claims that Christians or other religious groups constituted a larger proportion of Nigeria’s population than Muslims.

His remarks have continued to generate reactions, with some commentators describing them as divisive, while others have defended his right to express his religious and political views.

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