A banner displayed at the gate of the Lekki Central Mosque in Lagos State, which sparked widespread debate and criticism on social media, has been removed.
This was confirmed on Wednesday by a member of the Lekki Muslim community identified as Tunde Alabi, in a video shared online.
“My name is Tunde Alabi. I noticed that there was a banner in front of our mosque causing some controversies. I sent a message to the mosque committee, and they informed me that it had been removed. I came here personally to check, and I can confirm it has actually been removed,” Alabi said.
The banner, which had the inscription, “Jesus Christ is not God. He is a Prophet and Messenger of God!” also referenced Quran 5:72, stating, “Allah says, They have disbelieved those who say that God is the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary. While the Messiah had said, ‘Children of Israel, worship God, my Lord and your Lord. God has forbidden Paradise to anyone who worships something else besides Him.’”
Alabi added, “It has actually been removed as you can see. (0:28) You can see this other banner and the one that was removed was supposed to be here behind me. Actually, I am not speaking on behalf of the mosque. I’m speaking on behalf of myself.
“I can confirm that it has been removed, so let me see. I’m sorry for any inconvenience that must have caused, but the banner has been removed.
Thank you. So this date is the 18th of December and it’s about 6 p.m. Thank you.”
The message on the banner, which quickly went viral, triggered heated reactions online. Some users condemned it as disrespectful to Christianity and blasphemous, while others defended the statement as a factual representation of Islamic beliefs.
A Nigerian actress, Wumi Tuase, expressed her disapproval, saying, “I found it very weird that Lekki Central Mosque has this in front of their gate.” Similarly, a user, Fisayo Ojabodu, tweeted, “The banner is disrespectful to other people’s religion and is propagating a foolish agenda.”
Another user, Adesuwa, described the message as blasphemy.
However, some supported the banner’s content. One commenter, Olawale, remarked, “The message on the banner is true.”
Another user, Abdul’fattah Muhdl’awwal, added, “Jesus himself never said he is God. The quote in that banner is the fact and not blasphemous.”
The controversy also reignited discussions about religious tolerance and freedom of expression in Nigeria.
A user, ChristTheLighthouse, urged Christians to remain peaceful, stating, “Our Lord and saviour received criticism, backlash, rejection, and even insults up to the point of death. The gospel is never by force, war, coercion, or propaganda.”
-Punch