Hausa youths on Sunday caused panic and confusion after they grabbed a chemist identified as Emmanuel Emeka in the Ketu area of Lagos state.
Reports gathered revealed that the said Chemist would have been mobbed was it not for the timely intervention of men of the Nigerian Police, Ketu Division.
Emmanuel Emeka, the chemist was according to Punch Metro grabbed by the hausa youths on account of blasphemy.
A source disclosed that the chemist had written a blasphemous word on a magazine which led to the attack by the Hausa youths.
The source further noted that the chemist has since been taken into police custody for the safety of his life as his shop had already been destroyed.
Narrating the incident, the source said: “It happened around 9pm on Sunday. The issue could have led to a bloody fight between Christians and Muslims in Ketu, but for the police.
“What happened was that the man wrote something on a magazine which the Hausa youths said was blasphemous. When other Hausa men saw it, they became angry and seized him.
“Some of his friends tried to rescue him and that almost started a fight. The police were alerted and they responded quickly and doused the rising tension.”
Confirming the attack, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos said: “The Lagos State Police Command averted what could have been a religious crisis between the Igbo community and the Hausa Muslim community due to the timely intervention of its operatives.
“At about 9.05pm, the Ketu division received a distress call that a boy was about to be lynched by some youths because he wrote blasphemous words on their magazine.
“The boy was rescued and kept in protective custody. His chemist shop was secured from destruction. Everywhere is calm as the police have intensified patrol in the area after successfully calming frayed nerves.”