northern state of Nasarawa for "blasphemy" after he disciplined a Muslim student, Christians said.
English and history teacher Joshua Lai of ‘Keffi Government College’ in Nasarawa reportedly appeared in front of the Magistrate Court 2 in the state’s capital Lafia on charges of "blasphemy against the prophet of Islam,” Muhammad, and for “public incitement, rioting, and mischief."
Nigerian Christians have suggested that Muslims sparked the riots, including burning homes, after the teacher disciplined Muslim student Abdullahi Yusuf, for arriving late at class June 12.
"I asked him where he was coming from when the lesson was already over, and he claimed he was coming from the mosque," Lai said in remarks published by Compass Direct News agency, which investigates religious persecution.
SPEAKING TRUTH
"I said he could not be speaking the truth, as the Muslim time for morning prayers was far gone," the teacher was quoted as saying. Lai reportedly said that as a former Muslim who converted to Christianity he knew that Muslims pray between 5:30 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., and that Yusuf had arrived around 9 a.m local time.
He then punished Yusuf according to custom – caning, used in both elementary and high schools in Nigeria – and allowed him into the class, Compass Direct News reported.
"I told him that his reasons were not tenable," Lai said, "and repeatedly told him that there was time for everything, a time to serve God and a time to be in the class – that this is how it should be, or else his parents wouldn’t have sent him to school."
DEFENDING ACTIONS
Later that day Lai had to defend his actions in front of a school committee after the caned student claimed he had been saying: "I will flog the prophet Muhammad." Lai denied saying this, but was later warned of a students plot to kill him.
Later that day Muslim students reportedly burned down four homes, including his house on the school grounds. Police also detained Lai in the Nigerian capital Abuja, where he had taken refuge after learning that the Muslim attackers intended to behead him, reported Compass Direct News.
He was reportedly held in prison custody for eight days and later released on bail. The current trial comes amid growing concern among Christians and human rights groups about Muslim extremism in northern states of Nigeria, which has been rocked by religious violence in the past. Officials have not reacted to the latest claims.
Since the June 12 incident Lai has reportedly received no salary and the school notified him not to return. Lai estimated damages to his private property at over $8,000 in local currency. "What has kept me going is the fact that I believe God has a purpose for allowing this to happen," he reportedly said. "His comfort has been my strength." (With reports from Nigeria).
