By News Express
Nigeria’s security agents need to be at alert and closely monitor flashpoints following indications that some aggrieved Muslims are mobilising for protests in the country in connection with the controversial American film that depicts Prophet Muhammad in bad light.
As reported earlier in the day by News Express, the trailer of the yet-to-be-released film sparked riots yesterday in Libya and Egypt. While furious rioters in Libya shot an American to death and burned the US consulate in Benghazi, their counterparts in Egypt scaled the walls of the US Embassy in Cairo, replacing an American flag with an Islamic banner.
Latest reports say that the Libyan protests took an unexpected turn some hours today when the US ambassador in Libya, along with three of his staffers, were killed by militants who invaded the consulate.
Meanwhile, some angry Muslims believed to be Nigerians are now using social media to mobilise for demonstrations in the country over the movie intended to show how Coptic Christians are oppressed in Egypt, according to Sam Bacile, the American who produced, directed and wrote the two-hour film, and Morris Sadek, the Egyptian-born but US-based Christian who is promoting it.
One of the aggrieved Muslims who goes by the name Maigoro A Abdullahi said in a post sent to Yahoo! Groups, specifically yanarewa@yahoogroups.com and nigerianworldforum@yahoogroups.com: “This protest should be worldwide, US and its ally are evil, whoever involved must face the outrage. Enough is Enough.”
Several Muslim members of such fora are presently celebrating the reported deaths in Libya.
Another Muslim who posts as Justabu wrote in yanarewa@yahoogroups.com: “Good. Very good for Amerıca. Amerıcans should know that theır freedom ends where other people’s freedom starts. Amerıcans ın Arabıa and the Muslım World should watch theır backs. Muslıms would surely fıght back and Amerıca ıs the target. Enough of theır ınsensıtıvıty.”
Media experts are already warning that Nigerian security agencies must move swiftly to nip any threat to peace in connection with the controversial film in the bud.
Commenting on the issue on his Facebook page, the Abuja-based media expert, Mr. Uche Ezechukwu, wrote: “Nigeria security agencies should look out for a spill-over into Nigeria.”
As reported by the Associated Press, the 14-minute trailer of the movie posted on the website YouTube in an original English version and another dubbed into Egyptian Arabic “depicts Muhammad as a fraud, a womanizer and a madman in an overtly ridiculing way, showing him having sex and calling for massacres.”
