The Kaduna State House of Assembly has passed a bill seeking to grant licence to religious preachers in the state.
Though Governor Nasir El Rufai has not assented to it, the bill passed into law by the House three days ago seeks to regulate religious activities in the state.
In a move likely to stoke further controversy in the state, the Bill seeks to ban open public preaching attracted opposition from both Christian and Muslim groups in the state.
Its passage few minutes before the assembly was dissolved has raised further suspicion that members of the State House of Assembly may have been arm twisted by the Executive into passing the bill.
The bill seeks to regulate religious preaching in Kaduna State with a view to promoting religious harmony and peaceful co-existence amongst the residents of the state.
It was brought to the House since 2016 and was vehemently opposed by both Christians and Muslims.
But presiding over the plenary on Friday, Alhaji Aminu Abdullahi Shagali, the Speaker of the state house, said a state inter-faith Regulatory council has been established with a chairman to be appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of the Secretary to the state.
Shagali added that two members representing the Christian and Muslim faith respectively are to be appointed by the Governor among others.
The bill, according to the Speaker, seeks the above mentioned council shall hear and determine appeals brought before it arising from the decision of the local government inter-faith Committee and also has power to issue regulations considered necessary to guide the state inter-faith council and local government inter-faith committee in the performance of their functions under the bill if signed into law.
He further mentioned that the bill when signed into law, stipulates that in each of the 23 local Government areas of the state, a committee to be known as the Local Government Inter-faith Committee has to be established.
Shagali indicated that the local Government Inter-faith committee shall consider and recommend to state Inter-faith Regulation Council all applications for the grant of licence to religious preachers as well as screen and recommend preachers for the grant of licence among other functions.
The supplementary provision explained that all cassettes, compact disks (CDs), flash drives or any other communication gadgets containing religious recordings from accredited preachers may be played inside a private dwelling unit or vehicle, entrance porch (zaure), Church, Mosque and any other designated place of worship.
It further stated that any person who plays religious cassette or uses a loud speaker for religious purposes between the hours of 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. in a public place, and uses a loudspeaker for religious purposes other than inside Church or Mosque commits an offence and shall on conviction be liable to imprisonment for a term of not less than two years or pay a fine of less than N200,000 or both.
The bill added that any person who publicly insults or seeks to incite contempt, by making false statements in such a manner as to be likely to lead to a breach of peace, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term of not less than five years a fine of not less than N100,000 or both.
