A group, which identifies itself as the Mangu Concerned Muslim Consultative Forum, MCMCF, in Mangu local government area of Plateau State, has slammed Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, the outspoken Regional Chairman of the Church of Christ in Nigeria, COCIN, in Barkin Ladi LGA, over a recent comment he made which it said is not only inciting but inflammatory meant to cause disaffection between Christians and Muslims in the state.
According to the MCMCF, Rev. Dachomo had, in a recent statement, accused Muslims in Mangu of converting a COCIN church building in the council into a mosque after the recent attacks.
In a statement on Thursday titled “Reverend Ezekiel Dachomo’s malicious allegations against Mangu Muslim Community,” the group said the claim was both ” inflammatory, reckless, and completely unsubstantiated.”
“The Mangu Concerned Muslim Consultative Forum (MCMCF) strongly condemns the inflammatory, reckless, and completely unsubstantiated claim made by Reverend Ezekiel Dachomo, Regional Chairman of COCIN, that a COCIN church building in Mangu LGA was converted into a mosque after the recent attacks,” the statement said.
The group stated that the allegations by the pastor are a deliberate falsehood designed to paint the Muslim community of Mangu as aggressors and usurpers of Christian property, incite hatred, and derail the fragile peace in our local government.
“The MCMCF rejects this dangerous narrative in its entirety and demands immediate proof or public retraction. Until tangible evidence is presented, Reverend Dachomo’s claim remains nothing more than malicious disinformation,” it said.
The group stressed that it was forced to come up with its position to put “an end to this destructive rumour-mongering,” and to formally and publicly demand that Rev. Dachomo immediately provide the following specific, irrefutable details:
The full, official name of the COCIN church building he claims was converted;
The exact village or community in Mangu LGA where this alleged conversion took place;
The precise date or timeframe when the building was supposedly converted and occupied as a mosque.
“Failure to provide these basic facts on the same platforms where the allegation was made will confirm that the claim is baseless and was intended only to inflate tensions.
“While Reverend Dachomo spreads unproven accusations against Muslims, the conduct of the Muslim community in Mangu tells a very different story.”
The MCMCF said that contrary to Rev. Dachomo’s claims, the Muslims in Mangu have actively protected COCIN churches and Christian properties in their areas whenever they are under attack.
“A clear example is the COCIN church in Sabon Kasuwa, which stands completely intact and untouched in the heart of a Muslim community, with local Muslims ensuring its safety even without dedicated security,” it said.
The MCMCF, however, said in a recent violence that broke out in the council, mosques were destroyed, including those in Mangu Daawo and other places, which have been turned into refuse dumps and open defecation sites, which, to them, is a deliberate and continuing act of desecration that shows profound disrespect for Islamic sacred spaces.
“This glaring double standard exposes the hypocrisy behind Reverend Dachomo’s selective outrage. The Muslim community of Mangu will no longer accept being slandered with fabrications,” the statement continued.
