Top Boko Haram Fighters Killed, Claims Nigerian Military

 

Nigeria's air force said it had killed a number of senior Boko Haram fighters and possibly their overall leader, and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived for talks on tackling the militants.

Government planes attacked the Islamist group inside the Sambisa forest in its northeast heartland on Friday, the air force said, adding that it had only just confirmed details of the impact of the raid.

"Their leader, so called 'Abubakar Shekau', is believed to be fatally wounded on his shoulders," the statement by military spokesman Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman added, without going into details on the source of its information.

Kerry did not make a direct reference to the reported air raid on his arrival on Tuesday, but his administration has paid close attention to the fight against a militant group that has declared allegiance to Islamic State and destabilized a whole region by attacking Nigeria's neighbors.

On his first stop in the northern city of Sokoto, the top U.S. diplomat said the struggle against Boko Haram would only succeed if it tackled the reasons why people join militant groups and gained the public's trust.

"It is understandable that, in the wake of terrorist activity, some are tempted to crack down on anyone and everyone who could theoretically pose some sort of threat. But extremism can't be defeated through repression or fear," he said.

U.S. PLANES

Nigeria has been pushing the United States to sell it aircraft to take on Boko Haram - a group that emerged in northeast Borno region seven years ago. The militants have killed an estimated 15,000 people in their fight to set up an Islamist state.

Under Nigeria's last president, Goodluck Jonathan, the United States had blocked arms sales and ended training of Nigerian troops partly over human rights concerns such as treatment of captured insurgents.

But the new administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has argued its human rights record has improved significantly enough to lift the blockade.

In May, U.S. officials told Reuters that Washington wanted to sell up to 12 A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft to Nigeria in recognition of Buhari's reform of the country's army. Congress needs to approve the deal.

Kerry said Buhari had made "a strong start at all levels of government" since taking office in May 2015, without referring specifically to rights abuses. Kerry was due to visit Buhari later in the capital Abuja, officials said.

 

There was no immediate reaction from Boko Haram, which communicates with the media only by videos. The military has reported the death of Boko Haram's Shekau in the past, only to have a man purporting to be him appear later, apparently unharmed, making video statements.

There have been recent signs of rifts between at least parts of Boko Haram and Islamic State. The global militant organization announced a new leader for what it described as its West African operations this month - an account that Abubakar Shekau appeared to contradict in a later video message.

Fake miracle syndicate nabbed, says pastor hired them

Members of a syndicate, which specialised in confirming fake prophecies for pastors, have been arrested by the police in Enugu State.

Our correspondent gathered that the group also faked healings for some men of God, who contracted and paid them for their services.

The suspected fraudsters were identified as Obi Ejike from Ubaho Okija in Anambra State; Mary Kuku from Ijebu Ode, Ogun State; Joy Oluwakemi from Ojo, Lagos State; Nwosu Chizoba from Umunze, Anambra State; and Peter Uchechi from Ebonyi State.

They were reportedly apprehended while on their way to Abakiliki, Ebonyi State, where they were contracted to stage phoney miracles and healings for an unnamed pastor in the state.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the suspects were apprehended on Friday during an argument while waiting to board a vehicle at Holy Ghost Park, Enugu.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Enugu State Police Command, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, who confirmed the development on Sunday, explained that the argument among the fraudsters drew the attention of some policemen within the premises of the park, who interrogated them.

Amaraizu said two members of the syndicate, Ejike and Oluwakemi, opened up on the group’s activities.

Revelations made by the duo led to the arrest of other members of the group at P and T bus stop, Enugu, on Saturday, where they had assembled to board a bus to Abakiliki, the venue of a church service.

A member of the group, Uchechi, said they were usually recruited in large numbers and kept in a house from where they would shuttle to confirm fake prophecies and stage-manage miracles for pastors.

Uchechi said they were usually paid through a coordinator, who acted as a middleman between the syndicate and the pastors.

Upon their arrival in the church, a man, who works for the pastor, would instruct the syndicate on the nature of the assignment.

Uchechi explained that before the scheduled church service, they would list their names and the fake ailments they had, which would be given to the pastor while  ministering to the congregation.

During the ‘prophetic hour’ session of the service, members of the syndicate, who were already known to the pastor, would come out when people who had problems were summoned to the altar.

Subsequently, members of the syndicate would announce before the congregation that they had received healing following the pastor’s ministrations.

In other cases, according to Uchechi, members of the syndicate would come out to ‘confirm’ a prophecy, which would be made by the pastor in the course of the service, based on the information they provided before the session.

She added that the members of their group usually fell under the ‘influence’ of the pastor’s anointing, during worship sessions.

“Some pastors use us to grow their churches and ministries and we are paid later through our coordinator, depending on our roles,” Uchechi said.

Ejike, who explained that he worked with the coordinator, admitted that he was in charge of the Abakiliki job, which the group was going for when they were apprehended.

He said he decided to go into the fake prophecy business after his business collapsed in Lagos.

Ejike added that he was mostly involved in the recruitment of personnel for various assignments.

Another member of the group, Chizoba, said she started the ‘business’ in Abuja, after finding it difficult to fend for her baby, who she had out of wedlock.

According to her, she eventually relocated to Onitsha, Anambra State, to team up with the syndicate.

Two other members of the syndicate, Oluwakemi and Kuku, claimed to be widows with four children each, adding that hardship pushed them into the crime.

The police spokesperson, Amaraizu, said investigations were ongoing.

Video of Kidnapped Chibok Schoolgirls Gives Christian Parents Hope: 'I Give God Glory She's Alive'

The parents of one of the Christian Chibok girls kidnapped by Boko Haram in Nigeria are giving thanks to "God Almighty" after their daughter appeared in a new video released by Islamic terror group over the weekend.

"Seeing my baby standing with a terror[ist] with ... ammunition around his neck is not easy for a mother," Esther Yakubu, whose daughter, Maida, was among 270 schoolgirls kidnapped two years ago, told CNN. "But I also give thanks to God almighty. They say most of the girls are dead but mine is alive."

BBC News noted that 50 girls were shown in the video released on Sunday, with a Boko Haram gunman revealing that some of the girls died during air strikes against the militants. 

Wearing a faded black abaya and patterned headscarf, Esther's 18-year-old daughter looks down as a militant armed with a gun instructs her to speak: "We are not happy living here," Maida tells the camera.

Behind her, fellow schoolgirls in floor-length robes watch blankly as she urges their parents to press the Nigerian government to free terrorist fighters in exchange for their release.

"I'm begging our parents to meet the government to release their people so that we can be released," Maida says before revealing that 40 of the girls have been "married" to Islamic fighters.

While the future of their daughter remains uncertain, Esther and her husband Yakubu Kabu remain hopeful, as the video is the first proof that Maida is alive since she was taken from her school in 2014.

"When I saw that video, I am very sad because this is my baby standing there with someone holding a gun," says Yakubu. "All of us we start crying.

"I give God the glory that she's alive. This video gives us hope that our daughter can be rescued."

The family added that its unwavering Christian belief has kept it going through the darkest times, revealing that they pray together every morning and every midnight that their daughter will make it home safely.

"I'm very, very happy," says Yakubu, having seen the video. "Because as long as she's alive, we will see her one day."

The kidnapping of the schoolgirls sparked international outrage and put pressure on the Nigerian government to do everything it can to secure their release.

The Ministry of Information of Culture said in a statement that the government is now "in touch" with Boko Haram and "working for the girls' release."

"We are being extremely careful because the situation has been compounded by the split in the leadership of Boko Haram," added Alhaji Lai Mohammed, minister of Information of Culture, referring to recent news of division within the Islamic-State affiliated terror group.

Back in May, a 19-year-old girl and a 4-month-old baby were found at the edge of the Sambisa Forest, one of Boko Haram's hideouts, and was identified as the first Chibok girl to be rescued from the terrorists. The video is the first to be seen since CNN obtained footage in April purportedly showing 15 of the girls.

Army/Shiites clash

The Coalition Against Terrorism and Extremism on Monday in Abuja called on the Federal Government to stop members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, also known as the Shiite sect, led by Ibrahim El-Zak Zakky from trekking from Zaria, Kaduna State to Abuja.

The group said the members of the IMN constituted a serious security risk to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and the entire country.

The spokesperson of CATE, Gabriel Onoja, told journalists that the Federal Government must not shirk in its responsibility to “protect other Nigerians from the extremism being promoted by the sect.”

While warning that the country already had enough security concerns, he called on the Federal Government to take action to manage the situation, warning that the IMN must not be allowed to export their culture of blockade of vital roads to another city least of all the nation’s capital, Abuja.

Onoja said, “With the existential threats facing the country at every turn, the message must be sent out clearly that no religious leader or adherent is above the law. Anyone who tries to further compromise our collective security should be made to answer for their actions.

“We urge religious, traditional and political leaders in the North to call this horde to order. Northern elites have a lot of work to do; those northern youths who attend only Islamic centres to the exclusion of contemporary education must be better managed henceforth as dubious scholars often find them willing recruits for extreme doctrines.”

Militants kill three soldiers, cart away weapons in Bayelsa

Suspected militants on Monday attacked the location of the newly-activated Joint Task Force, Operation Delta Safe, in Bayelsa State, and killed three soldiers.

The incident, which reportedly occurred about 9.30am, took place at Tombi Jetty, Ogolomabiri in Nembe Local Government Area of the state.

The militants were also said to have made away with military gunboats, rifles and other ammunition, after an ambush on the operatives stationed at a checkpoint.

The checkpoint, it was learnt, is located at the community’s entrance and had been in existence since the era of militancy in the Niger Delta.

It was also learnt that heavy sounds of gunshots allegedly fired during the surprise attack unsettled the community for about 30 minutes.

The situation was said to have thrown the residents of the community into panic, as many of them who initially thought the area was under siege ran in different directions for safety.

It was further learnt that the gunmen, who stormed the area with unspecified number of speedboats, dressed in white uniform to deceive their targets of their real intentions.

Their immaculate white dresses, it was learnt, were designed to create an impression that they were members of a white garment church on a funeral procession.

A resident of Nembe, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there was widespread fear in the community.

The source said, “The attack was deadly and well planned. Nobody had expected that such a thing would happen at such a time when the jetties were busy with people preparing to go about their businesses.

“I am sure even the soldiers did not expect such an incident to happen at that time. Some persons who were already sailing out of Nembe said they saw the gunmen but thought they were mourners because of the way they dressed.”

The source added that following the attack, some residents in Nembe started fleeing the community while others were thinking of following suit due to widespread fear of reprisal by soldiers.

Reacting to the killing of the soldiers, the Chairman of the Civil Liberties Organisation, Bayelsa State chapter, Chief Nengi James, condemned the attack, wondering why an attack of such nature would occur in broad daylight.

According to him, the military needs to be vigilant to prevent the stealing of its arms and ammunition to perpetrate violence in the state and in the region.

The embattled President, Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide, Udengs Eradiri, condemned the killing of the soldiers.

A military source, who did not want his name mentioned because he was not authorised to speak, confirmed the development.

He said the leadership of the ODS, angry at the development, immediately deployed two Alpha Fighter jets to go after the suspected militants.

“Operation Delta Safe has cordoned off the road leading to Nembe. We are on the trail of the criminals and there is no way they can escape. The maritime comportment is also involved in combing the creeks,” the source said.

But calls to the Coordinator, Joint Media Campaign Centre, ODS, Lt. Col. Olaolu Daudu, were not responded to. Also, a text message to his mobile phone was not responded to as of the time of filing the report.

A year ago, on August 8, suspected militants had launched an attack on the same military formation, killing five soldiers and carting away arms and ammunition.

Courtesy PUNCH

EFCC arrests blogger over anti-Magu story

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested popular blogger, Mr. Abubakar Sidiqu Usman, otherwise known as Abusidiqu, over a recent report he published against the Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu.

Friends of the blogger who reached out to The PUNCH said he was arrested by EFCC operatives early on Monday morning.

Confirming the arrest, the EFCC spokesman, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, said the blogger was arrested for cyber stalking.

In a statement, Uwujaren said, “The EFCC today arrested Mr. Abubakar Sidiq Usman, a blogger, for offences bordering on cyber stalking.

“The suspect who is the publisher of Abusidiqu.com was picked up at his Kubwa, Abuja home in the early hours of Monday August 8, 2016 by operatives of the EFCC and is currently being questioned over the alleged offence which contravenes sections of the Cyber Crime Act.

“The suspect has already been offered administrative bail and would be released to his elected sureties.”

Cyber stalking is defined as the repeated use of electronic communications to harass or frighten someone by sending threatening emails or spreading false messages online.

Usman’s blog, Abusidiqu.com, published a report titled, ‘EFCC boss, Magu, commences total war with core EFCC staff’ on August 2, 2016.

Muslim in Eastern Uganda Ties 9-Year-Old Son to Tree and Burns Him for Accepting Christ, Sources Say

The Muslim father of a 9-year-old boy in eastern Uganda who put his faith in Christ this month tied his son to a tree and burned him, sources said.

 

Nassif Malagara of the Kakira Parish area, Kisozi Sub-County, Kamuli District decided to become a Christian after a neighbor took him to visit a church in another village, undisclosed for security reasons, on June 5.

 

"At the end of the service, Nassif remained behind and then followed me to the church's pastry room and requested that he wanted to receive Jesus as his personal savior," the pastor of the church told Morning Star News. "I was a bit hesitant, but after his continuous press, I then prayed with him, and he left."

 

Nassif subsequently declined to participate in any Muslim activities, including attending amadrassa (Islamic school), the pastor said. His father, 36-year-old Abubakar Malagara, and stepmother, Madina Namwaje, 35, became furious when they learned he had converted to Christianity, the pastor said.

 

The boy told Morning Star News that his parents prohibited him from eating, beyond the day-time fast of Ramadan, so that he went without food for two days before sneaking to his neighbor's house for food. He brought food back to his home over the next few days, and on June 9 his father caught him eating.

 

"He started beating me up with sticks, but I managed to escape to a nearby bush," Nassif said. "My father then followed me and got hold of me back to the homestead, where he tied me up to a banana tree. He went into the house and came back with a hot piece of wood. The banana tree had dry leaves, which caught fire and caused serious burns on my body."

Neighbors heard his screams for help and rescued him, he said, and took him to Kamuli Hospital. The hospital's Walwawo Zubari told Morning Star News that Nassif had burns on several parts of his body.

 

"Nassif has been recovering, but at a very slow pace," Zubari said. "He might need to be referred to another hospital for specialized treatment."

 

A relative told Morning Star News that she hopes to take custody of Nassif after his release from the hospital.

 

Area residents alerted Kisozi Police Post, and officers arrested Malagara, registering the case under reference number CRR044/2016. Malagara, who attends Nankaduro mosque, has been released on bail.

 

The neighbor (name withheld for security reasons) who introduced Nassif to the church said he fears for his life after receiving a threatening text message on his phone.

 

"We know that you are behind the conversion of Nassif to Christianity," the message read. "You will soon reap what you have sown, which will be a lesson to others. Islam is against such conversion."

 

The sender blocked his identity, but the neighbor said he suspects Malagara might have used another Muslim's phone to send the message.

 

About 85 percent of the people in Uganda are Christian and 11 percent Muslim, with some eastern areas having large Muslim populations. The country's constitution and other laws provide for religious freedom, including the right to propagate one's faith and convert from one faith to another.

 

Kamuli District is about 220 kilometers (136 miles) from Mbale Town in eastern Uganda. Nassif's case comes after a Christian in eastern Uganda who had received death threats from Muslims after a religious discussion was killed on June 4. The body of Yokannah Zirinkuma of Kasasira village, Kibuku District, was found in a pool of blood in nearby Kadama village, near the home of the primary suspect. Zirinkuma was 50.

 

On May 15 in Kasecha village, Kibuku District, Micah Byamukama, pastor of Kasecha Baptist Church, died at Kabweri Health Centre after ingesting an insecticide that a Muslim villager was suspected of putting into his food. He was 61.

 

On May 8 in Mbaale village, Imanyiro Sub-County, Mayuge District, a Muslim strangled his wife to death for leaving Islam, relatives and neighbors said. Awali Kakaire, 34, allegedly killed Mariam Nakirya for embracing Christianity. She was 30.

 

On April 19, Muslims in Pallisa District beat and raped a young Christian woman for testifying that a mosque leader killed her father because of his faith, sources said. The imam at a mosque in Kanyumu village, Sheikh Musana Ibrahim, and two other Muslims killed Samson Mukama onJan. 28, according to his daughter.

 

On April 4, a Muslim in Kachomo village, Budaka District, attacked his wife for becoming a Christian, telling a judge that Islam allows him to kill any apostate, sources said. Having moved to another village with their four children following an attack last year, Ntende Hawa, 38, said she was visiting her estranged husband to discuss child support when he questioned her about her faith and began strangling her. Her husband's brother stopped the assault.

 

Threats from hard-line Muslims and the rape of her 13-year-old daughter forced a Christian mother of five children to flee their village in eastern Uganda in March, sources said. Amina Napiya, a 42-year-old widow, fled her home in Nakajete village, Budaka Town Council, on March 16.

 

Napiya and her five children fled after receiving a text message that the family would be killed for leaving Islam, she said. Napiya's daughter was raped on Feb. 25 while fetching firewood a kilometer from their home at about 4:30 p.m., the widow said. Napiya believes relatives may have hired Taika Suleiman, arrested in connection with the alleged rape, to assault her daughter because of their faith, as her daughter told her that the rapist said, "This is the second warning to your mother for disgracing the faith of the Muslims."

 

On Jan. 10, relatives of Abdu Nsera, a recent high school graduate in Katende village near Busede, Jinja District, beat him after finding out he had left Islam to become a Christian. They burned down a house they had built for him and have been searching for him after he fled.

 

On Jan. 27 in Numuseru village, Naboa Sub-County in Budaka District, the body of Laurence Maiso was found at his house, his head in a pool of blood. Four days earlier, Imam Kamulali Hussein had met him and his wife on a local road and told him, "Allah is about to send to you the Angel of Death in your house. Please prepare to meet him at any time."

 

On Dec. 23, 2015, a pastor in eastern Uganda was hacked to death as he and other church members resisted an effort by Muslims to take over their land in Nansololo village near Mazuba, in Namutumba District, area church leaders said. Pastor Bongo Martin is survived by a widow and two children.

 

In another area of eastern Uganda, five underground Christians in a predominantly Muslim village, including a pregnant mother, died from a pesticide put into their food after a Bible study on Dec. 18, area sources said. The Bible study took place in Kachomo village, Kachomo Sub-County, Budaka District at the home of Hajii Suleiman Sajjabi, a convert from Islam who had begun the study with eight family members who had come to faith in Christ under his influence.

 

Four of Sajjabi's relatives have died, as did a pregnant neighbor, according to area sources. A doctor at Mbale Regional Hospital said a postmortem test showed a substance known as Malathion, a low-toxicity pesticide, in those who had died. Though low-level toxic, Malathion when ingested quickly metabolizes into highly toxic Tomalaoxon.

 

Islamic extremists in eastern Uganda on Dec. 8, 2015 set a deadly trap for a Christian policeman who had left Islam, and the next day other hard-line Muslims kidnapped three children from another convert in a nearby village. More than 20 Muslim extremists in the Komodo area of Kadama Sub-County, Kibuku District, killed officer Ismail Kuloba at about 4 p.m. after he responded to an urgent call to intervene in a supposed land dispute between warring parties, an area Christian told Morning Star News. Kuloba was 43.

 

One of the assailants, Mudangha Kasimu, threw a stone that hit Kuloba in the forehead. Kasimu then shot him twice in the head, and he died as other Muslims were shouting, 'Allah Akbar [God is greater],'" sources said.

 

About 12 miles east in Kabuna, near Budaka in Kaderuna District, a group of Muslim men from Pallisa on Dec. 9 kidnapped three children of Madengho Badir, a Christian convert from Islam, sources said. Badir, 42, arrived at his home in Kabuna Sub-County, Kabuna parish, at 10 p.m. to find 5-year-old Nabukwasi Shakira, 7-year-old Gessa Amuza and 10-year-old Wagti Musitafa missing.

 

An area source said a 14-year-old boy from Kabuna, Karami Hassan, was with Badir's three children when they were abducted near their home. The boy said a group of Muslims from Pallisa were looking for Badir, and the boy led them to Badir's children.

 

Outside of Kabeshai, near Pallisa, a Christian father of five who supported 10 children whose families had disowned them for leaving Islam was killed on Dec. 2. One of three men who attacked Patrick Ojangole reproached him for failing to heed a warning to cease his Christian activities before the Christian was killed, said a witness who was with Ojangole and escaped. Ojangole was 43.

 

On Nov. 12, 2015, the father of a young Muslim woman in east Uganda tried to beat her to death after she became a Christian, but community leaders intervened and limited him to disowning her, sources said. Kibida Muyemba learned that his 21-year-old daughter, Namusisi Birye, had put her faith in Christ at an evangelistic campaign held that day in Nandere village, Kadama Sub-County, Kibuku District, 41 kilometers (25 miles) west of Mbale, church leaders told Morning Star News. Birye and a man in the traditional dress of an imam confessed openly to receiving Christ, they said, and angry Muslims cut the event short.

 

On Oct. 19, 2015, Muslims in Kalampete village, Kibuku District who were angry at a Christian for leaving Islam killed his wife, a month after his brother was killed for the same reason. Mamwikomba Mwanika, mother of three adult children and five others ranging in age from 17 to 9, died en route to a hospital after Muslims unknown to her dragged her from her home at about 9 p.m. and assaulted her, survivors said.

 

Her husband's brother, Samson Nfunyeku, was killed in the village on Sept. 23 after flaring tempers cut short a religious debate he'd had with Islamic scholars.

 

In Nsinze village, Namutumba District, a Muslim beat and left for dead his wife and 18-year-old son on Aug. 11 after learning they had converted to Christianity, area sources said. Issa Kasoono beat and strangled his wife, Jafalan Kadondi, but she survived, said a source who requested anonymity. He said other relatives joined Kasoono in beating her and their two sons, Ibrahim Kasoono, 18, and Ismael Feruza, 16, though the younger son managed to escape with only bruises on his arm.

 

The wife of a former sheikh was poisoned to death on June 17, 2015 after she and her husband put their faith in Christ in Nabuli village, Kibuku District. Namumbeiza Swabura was the mother of 11 children, including a 5-month-old baby.

 

In Kiryolo, Kaderuna Sub-County, Budaka District on March 28, 2015, five Muslims gang-raped the 17-year-old daughter of a pastor because the church leader ignored their warnings that he stop worship services, she said. 

Apostle Johnson Suleman Addresses Kaduna State’s New Anti-Christian Laws

Apostle Johnson Suleman of Omega Fire Ministries took to twitter on Thursday to say some really fierce things about the new laws stipulated in Kaduna State which is regarded by many as anti-Christian. Eve though the laws are supposedly for both christian and muslims alike, it is glaringly obvious that the christian population would be much more grossly affected by the enactment of these laws than any other religion in the state.

Some of the laws include;

– In Kaduna you cannot preach without a license

– Every preacher will have to go and get ONLY one year license (renewable every year). That is, you must not preach with an expired license or you risk 2 years imprisonment.

– If you invite any external preacher (i.e. preacher outside Kaduna state), such a person must be licensed for the duration of his/her stay and the body issuing the license has the right to reject external preacher they feel is not qualify to preach in Kaduna state.

– Every preacher who want to be licensed will appear before a screening committee. If he/she scales through, he/she will only be given licensed for one year.

– The law criminalizes the use of CDS, Flash Drive and other communication gadgets except in religious building or inside your house. This means that you will be arrested for listening to sermons or religious music inside your cars or in any open place except in your house or religious building.

– If you preach without license, you are guilty of offense punishable with 2 years imprisonment or a fine of NGN200,000.

– You can’t use microphone in your church after 8pm you are guilty of offense punishable with 2 years’ imprisonment or a fine of NGN200,000.

– Since all preaching must be done within a building, it means public evangelism will be criminalized. Those who preach early morning, known by some as morning cry and preaching inside bus if arrested will be fined NGN200,000. This could also means, people will not be allowed to go out for evangelism on streets or move with vehicles with address systems to advertise programs.

Ireland: Christians, Muslims, Atheists Unite to Push Alternatives to Religious Education

In a rather unexpected coalition, Christians have united together with Muslims and atheists In Ireland to promote separation of church and state in education

ChristianToday.com reports that the Evangelical Alliance of Ireland (EAI) has joined with Atheist Ireland and Irish Ahmadiyya Muslims to work for alternatives to religious education in schools.

The groups are hoping to do away with the state-sponsored religious education course which is required for students.

All three groups believe such a requirement actually harms religion, as well as the secular state, even though about 85 percent of Irish people identify as Catholics.

The EAI stated that, in opposing the course, it was seeking to “protect children from coercion and discrimination in the area of religious education.”

Michael Nugent, chairman of Atheist Ireland stated, "The minister for education should immediately issue a circular letter informing all schools at second level that the state religious education course is not compulsory and students can choose another subject, and schools should actively inform students and parents about this.”

Imam Ibrahim Noonan stressed the importance of not allowing one particular faith to “have the monopoly in the schools.”