Was the man arrested and accused of trying to bomb a Kaduna branch of Winners Chapel Nasiru Muhammed Sani or Nathaniel Samuel?
This should never have been issue as the suspect identified himself as Nathaniel Samuel. The police also identified him as such.
But in a religiously divided country such as Nigeria, this issue has refused to go away.
In several reactions to the suspect’s stories, Some Christians are accusing the police of playing games, by changing the man’s identity to derail the narrative that it was the Boko Haram or its agents that wanted to bomb the church.
In a video interview with newsmen, the suspect identified himself as Nathaniel Samuel and also revealed that he was planning to be a pastor in Oyedepo’s church and had gone for Bible Studies in Lagos.
Adejare Ibrahim, reacting to the narrative that the suspect is ‘Nasiru Muhammed’, wrote: “Now, some religious bigots have found their voice. The suicide bomber, according to their warped thoughts, is Nasiru, not Nathaniel Samuel again. Some were even beclouded by their jaundiced sentiment to the extent of saying the guy is neither a Christian nor a Muslim. How they got all these facts remains a mystery that needs to be unraveled.
“This is the real bane of our common development as a nation. We try to cover faeces (shit) with our mouth or barehand, no matter how smelly or putrid it appears. Must we always lose our sense of reasoning to religion! This is damn too bad.
“The Police Authority, through a Deputy Superintendent of Police, made an official statement and Channels TV reported the case: they mentioned the guy’s name as Nathaniel Samuel. Yet, some people are making satanic efforts to shield the criminal by trying to change the narrative.
“What, exactly, is wrong with us as a people? What is our aim on this unsolicited defence of a suspected murderer? Is it because he is a Christian or what? What sort of attempt are you trying to make? To show us that a Christian can never be a terrorist, suicide bomber, criminal or a murderer?
“The naked fact is that criminality is not peculiar to a particular religion or ethnic group. As we have terrorists among Muslims, so also we have them among Christians. There are Christian murderers, kidnappers, thieves, pilferers, ritualists, armed robbers. Also, we have all of them among Muslims!”.
Nigerians trying to get to the truth of the suspect’s true identity have traced him to his Facebook page, where he uses a profile name of Nate Sam, a shortened form of his name.
His last post was a photograph on February 9, 2019, which bears the message that appeared to foretell his experience on Sunday: ‘You can hide it, we can find it’.
According to some of the photographs he posted, he appears in one with a DJ and possibly lives as one. In another he is seen with a mic, speaking at an event and yet in others, he is seen wearing natty dresses.
He advertises himself as an event manager, entertainer, mc and compere, freelance OAP/hypeman /artist/Mc√Focus and lists 08115671745 for his booking.
His profile further shows that he is from Bauchi state, who lives in southern Kaduna. According to him, he was working at PARTNER @ JAMALIFE HELPERS GLOBAL and had Studied at Word of Faith Bible Institute (WOFBI), Lagos, Nigeria. In addition, he went to Brainstrust College.
