The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has said the group and other religious bodies will sensitise churches and mosques to the need to be security conscious during the festive period.
The Department of State Services (DSS) had on Tuesday alerted Nigerians to the possibility of attacks in the country during the Christmas holiday, including critical infrastructure, places of worship, as well as recreational centres.
The agency said the plot would be executed through the use of explosives, suicide bombing and other weapons. It, however, said it had taken measures to thwart the plot.
Reacting to the development in an interview with SaharaReporters on Wednesday, the Director of MURIC, Ishiaq Akintola, said the body would take the DSS’ warning seriously.
Akintola stated that the DSS would have never raised the alarm without a justifiable cause to do so hence religious bodies would be sending messages to places of worship to be at alert.
He said, “We don’t pray for such a development; it is not a palatable thing to think about. As religious bodies, we first of all pray against it. We heard what the DSS said, and it is on the side of suspicion but they don’t just raise an alarm without any good reason.
“We are going to sensitise worshippers in all places of worship to that. Our hope is that the 2020 Christmas season is going to be hitch-free and there will be no ugly incidents.”
He expressed hope that security operatives would work round the clock to forestall attacks on worship centres during the festive season.
The MURIC Director added: “We are hoping that the security agencies will be up to the task and be able to forestall such occurrences and of course as usual, mosques will be on alert.
“We will send out the word asking mosques and churches to be on the lookout for strange faces, for luggage that anyone might want to leave behind or anyone that might be loitering about churches or mosques, probably trying to plant explosives there.”
