Noble Laureate, Wole Soyinka, on Thursday warned that religious violence would persist in the country until preachers of religious intolerance are prosecuted and made to atone for their offences.

Soyinka made this known while delivering a lecture on “Culture at risk” at the University of Benin, Edo State, during which he blamed the outbreak of violence against innocent persons by religious extremists on what he described as the “toxin” injected into them by their spiritual leaders.

The Nobel Laureate, who condemned the murder of eight students of the Abdu Gusau Polytechnic, Talata Mafara in Zamfara State, noted that such leaders were vicariously liable for the destruction caused by their followers.

Soyinka also attributed the emergence of the Boko Haram sect to religious teaching that incite violent behaviour and intolerance towards the fundamental rights of every citizen.

Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor, University of Benin, Prof. Faraday Orumwense, described the lecture series as significant to the cultural history of the ancient Benin Kingdom and beneficial to staff and students of the institution.