IGBINEDION JNR’S N3M FINE FOR N25B SCAM: A TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE

1^st May, 2015

PRESS RELEASE:

IGBINEDION JNR’S N3M FINE FOR N25B SCAM: A TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE

Justice J. Liman of the Federal High Court, Benin, yesterday fined Michael Igbinedion the sum of N3 million for stealing N25billion from the Edo state treasury during the period his elder brother, Lucky Igbinedion, served as governor in the state. The younger Igbinedion was prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) rejects this pronouncement on the basis that it reflects gross travesty of justice. It is scandalous, laughable and anti-people. We see this as a mockery of the judicial system. This pronouncement must be reversed by an appellate court and a proportionate punishment meted out to the culprit.

We are heavily disappointed by this decision. Where is common law leading us in this country? This is the type of judgment which encourages corrupt politicians to siphon public funds without batting an eyelid. It is also used as excuse by armed robbers and kidnappers. They ask, “What has been done to politicians who steal billions with a stroke of the pen? How much do we steal in our robbery operations? Have we ever snatched up to one billion naira?”

A judicial system which sentences the poor man to six months imprisonment for stealing one tuber of yam but leaves the rich man who steals billions of naira to go scot free cannot be called fair in any sense of the word. Or how else can we describe the fine imposed on this over-pampered junior Igbinedion?

When will a Daniel come to justice in this country? What proportion of N25 billion is N3 million? The Nigerian judiciary has failed the jamaaheer (masses). Where is the money he stole anyway? Has it been refunded? Is he just going to refund N3 million out of it as fine and keep the remaining whopping N24 billion nine hundred and ninety seven million naira (N24,997,000,000.00)? It is preposterous!

Igbinedion was pronounced guilty as charged on counts79-81. Why then did the judge suddenly develop cold feet when it came to the pronouncement of sentence? Why is the sentence so light? How rational is a N3 million fine for stealing N25 billion? The fine is sheer chicken feed.

This man should have been made to rot in jail for years at least to serve as deterrent to other thieves like him in public office. Unless we start doing this, armed robbery and kidnapping will not stop because criminals use examples like Igbinedion as moral justification for their escapades.

Why can’t we learn from China? America has been forced to surrender the first position in the economic field to China. The communist state reached its present lofty height today because of its total war on corruption.

President Xi Jinping has waged an unprecedented anti-graft campaign since taking office in 2012. Liu Zhijun, the former railways minister was sentenced to death in 2013 for stealing railway funds. Former deputy chief engineer of China's disbanded railways ministry, Zhang Shuguang, was also sentenced to death for taking bribes of more than 47m yuan ($7.7m; £4.8m) over 11 years.

 

Nigerian leaders must fear Allah. The Glorious Qur’an warns against corrupt enrichment (Qur’an 2:188) and compares those who consume the tax-payers’ money to those who swallow fire into their intestines (Qur’an 4:29-30). Allah commands justice and fairplay (Qur’an 16:90) and frowns upon partiality on the part of judges (Qur’an 4:135).

Corruption will become a thing of the past in Nigeria the day we stop glorifying political kleptomaniacs. Thieves in public offices must not be allowed to enjoy their loot. The present situation in Nigeria in which the proletariat is overworked, underpaid and overtaxed is indeed worrisome.

Workers’ take-home pay cannot take them home whereas political jobbers are overpaid, over-pampered and over-protected. Yet their only expertise lies in stealing the tax-payers’ money.

Conclusively, MURIC urges EFCC to appeal against this misjudgement and ask for a heavier punishment. We appeal to the Nigerian Judicial Council to show keen interest in this case which is capable of making a laughing stock of the judiciary.

We charge the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the incoming ruling party, to study the modus operandi of the Chinese Communist Party in its fight against corruption.

While we are not calling for a communist manifesto, or a forceful seizure of assets belonging to the wealthy, we believe that Nigeria needs revolutionary change, a change in which anyone who steals public money, no matter how highly placed, will be made accountable, and very heavily too.

In this regard, we invite the newly elected lawmakers of the National Assembly to enroll in the new venture to clean the ‘mess’ called Nigeria.

Professor Ishaq Akintola,

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)

RESCUE OF 200 GIRLS: MURIC COMMENDS NIGERIAN MILITARY

28^th April, 2015

PRESS RELEASE:

RESCUE OF 200 GIRLS:

MURIC COMMENDS NIGERIAN MILITARY

The Nigerian Army yesterday rescued 200 girls and 93 women from the notorious Sambisa forest in a daring raid on the Boko Haram terrorists’ den.

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) is greatly relieved by this good news. We commend Nigerian troops for this heroic feat. We charge the soldiers to leave no stone unturned in their campaign to rid the whole North East of Boko Haram religious bigots.

We are aware that the identities of the rescued girls have not been ascertained yet. Nonetheless, this is an achievement worth celebrating. Our fervent hope is that they should be the Chibok girls who have been reported kidnapped over a year ago.

Whether or not the rescued girls are the same Chibok girls whose mass abduction had attracted international outcry, MURIC still deems it fit to congratulate Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, for taking steps to make this happen during the last days of his administration.

Yet had it been early had been good, the early rescue of the girls could have earned President Jonathan a second term in office. But the president dilly-dallied for too long and reports said he did not believe the incident occurred until after 18 days. We cannot but add that the Chibok episode has taught future Nigerian and other African leaders a tough lesson in the danger that lies in official procrastination.

We attribute the progress currently being made by the Nigerian military in its fight against Boko Haram marauders to three main factors. Firstly, the proper attention which the Federal Government recently started paying to the provision of sophisticated weapons. Secondly, the support from Nigeria’s neighbours like Chad, Niger and Cameroon. The third and last factor is the prayers of Nigerians from the churches, mosques and other places.

We recall with nostalgia the days when Nigerian soldiers reportedly took to their heels at the approach of Boko Haram fighters. Today we are proud to assert that our soldiers are back in their true form: gallant, heroic and patriotic.

MURIC appeals to the incoming administration of General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) to treat any other future insurgency with military dispatch before it gets too late. The training and retraining as well as the procurement of state of the art weapons should also be treated with the urgency they require.  

Finally, we remind Nigerians of the price the nation had to pay in the Chibok saga due to the stand of doubting Thomases in official circles. We charge all citizens to stand together as one body in one nation to face the challenges facing our dear country without allowing politics, religion or ethnicity to divide us. From our leaders, we demand vision, courage and unshaken political will.

Professor Ishaq Akintola,

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)

IMPEACHMENT OF ONDO DEP GOV: JONATHAN MUST STOP IMPUNITY NOW!

27^th April, 2015

PRESS RELEASE:

IMPEACHMENT OF ONDO DEP GOV:

JONATHAN MUST STOP IMPUNITY NOW!

The Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Ali Olanusi, was impeached today Monday 27^th, 2015. Twenty (20) out of the twenty five (25) lawmakers in the state’s legislature signed the impeachment notice. The former Deputy Governor defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) just three days to the elections.       

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) is satisfied that due process was followed in the exercise leading to the impeachment.

However, the speed with which the impeachment was executed has exposed the dramatis personae as impatient and intolerant politicians. The notice of impeachment was served on Wednesday 22^nd April. The Judge constituted the panel the next day and by Friday 24^th the panel had submitted its findings! The deputy governor was booted out of office on Monday 27^th April, 2015. The whole process lasted four working days.

In the face of the impeachment of the Deputy Governor of Ondo State, MURIC calls the attention of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to the baffling and nauseating paradox in Ekiti State where the governor, Ayodele Fayose exploits the current presidential impunity to abuse his executive power.

The governor of Ekiti State has rendered the principle of separation of power impotent by disallowing both the legislature and the executive from functioning for a long time. The governor allegedly slapped a judge in the court premises. The courts have not been sitting for a long time under Fayose.

Neither has the house of assembly. Nineteen (19) lawmakers of Ekiti State who are members of the APC have not been able to sit in the house. This constitutes an infringement on Allah-given fundamental fights of the legislators. The state police command gives illegal and unconstitutional protection to seven (7) minority lawmakers of the house who are members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the president’s party. This is an incomprehensible act of impunity.

Governor Fayose openly incites citizens of the state against the 19 lawmakers. The roads are barricaded by weapon-wielding thugs allegedly with the connivance of the police. Nigerians are astounded that their outgoing president still allows Fayose’s bolekaja mentality to hold sway in Ekiti State. The five evils enumerated by Chamberlain, “Brute force, bad faith, injustice, oppression and persecution” now hold sway in Ekiti State.  

How can 7 be greater than 19? What mathematical configuration do we call this? History will not be kind to President Jonathan unless he makes amends before he leaves. The 19 Ekiti lawmakers were elected the same way Fayose was elected and there is separation of power between the executive and the legislature.

Of course it falls in line with Jonathan’s record. Was it not in his regime that 16 was weightier than 19? President Jonathan recognized the governor who scored 16 as the chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum and persecuted the one who scored 19. In Rivers State, the president also allegedly supported five (5) lawmakers in their illegal attempt to impeach a governor who had the majority lawmakers on his side.  

MURIC holds President Jonathan responsible for the excesses of Governor Fayose. Jonathan is in control of the police and the Ekiti police command has been highly partisan in this matter. The lawmakers must be allowed to sit regardless of what their intention may be.

This is what the law says. Any other thing is a contravention and an illegality. We demand full respect for the rule of law. Ondo State has set a precedence. If the rule of law can be respected in Ondo, it must also be supreme in Ekiti. What is good for the goose is good for the gander.

MURIC notes with deep concern that Jonathan’s concession of defeat lacks a followup. One stroke of fairness cannot obliterate the tyranny of a tenure. Action speaks louder than voice.

Rather than promoting liberal democracy and checking the impunity of his cronies, Jonathan’s post-concession actions tend to cement impunity and totalitarian despotism. Jonathan cannot lay claim to heroism and statesmanship until the right thing is done in Ekiti as well as in all other matters. It is not so easy to assume the status of a statesman.

President Jonathan must take necessary steps to allow the 19 lawmakers to sit in the hallowed chamber in the same way that the 20 lawmakers sat in Ondo to impeach the deputy governor. Failure to do this means that Jonathan is deceiving Nigerians and the rest of the world about his newfound love for democracy and statesmanship.

Unless Mr. President does this, Nigerians and the rest of the world would know that this country became George Orwell’s Animal Farm under Jonathan. What would posterity say about this after Jonathan’s exit except, “There goes the president who brandished impunity, condoned lawlessness and divided his country along religious and ethnic lines!”

MURIC’s final message to Mr. President is very simple: you can only take one, it is either impunity or Nigeria. Ignore the impunity in Ekiti State and lose your newly won integrity.   

Professor Ishaq Akintola,

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)

SACK OF IG SULAIMAN ABBA: WE DEMAND EXPLANATION

21^st April, 2015

PRESS RELEASE:

SACK OF IG SULAIMAN ABBA: WE DEMAND EXPLANATION

Outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan this afternoon sacked the Inspector General of Police, Sulaiman Abba. No reasons were given for relieving Sulaiman Abba of duty. Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Solomon Arase has been named as the Acting Inspector General of Police.

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) finds this development very curious for two main reasons. Firstly, Sulaiman Abba is not due for retirement until March 22, 2019. Sacking such a high profile service chief without any justifiable casus belli raises more questions than answers. Secondly, it is quite unusual for an outgoing regime to embark on this type of exercise like sacking service chiefs and appointing new ones.

The implication is that the hands of the incoming administration are being tied and its maneuvers being restrained. The incoming regime is being saddled with unnecessary and avoidable human liabilities.

It is our contention that President Jonathan owes Nigerians lots of explanations about the raison d’etre for this eleventh hour replacement of a service chief.

Tongues have already started wagging. Is President Jonathan really getting ready to handover? If so, why is he in a hurry to appoint a new IG for the incoming regime? Why should an IG be sacked shortly after the ruling party lost a general election?

Is it that he did not ‘play ball’ during the elections? Did he refuse to obey illegal commands? These questions are very vital because the opposition had alleged that the Nigerian government relied on using security agencies to thwart the will of the Nigerian people.

MURIC therefore tasks Mr. President to reveal the offence or offences committed by Mr. Sulaiman Abba. This matter must come to the public court of the Nigerian people who are the end-users and tax-payers. Mr. President must assure Nigerians that he is not just destroying peoples’ careers because he is on his way out.

We appeal to the incoming administration to be on the tip-toes of watchfulness. The people’s mandate must be jealously guarded. Nigerians voted for change. Heads of states are known to change service chiefs to strengthen their positions.

The question here is should President Jonathan be preparing his handover note or strengthening his position? This singular act appears to have been taken to consolidate incumbency. Nigerians must be on guard. It is not over until it is over. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.

The Buhari Transition Committee must declare clearly, unequivocally and unambiguously that no unnecessary eleventh hour appointment can be made otherwise such will be declared ultra vires and of no effect whatsoever. Outgoing state governors must avoid saddling incoming state administrations with emergency appointments. Such appointments are, ceteris paribus, made with sinister motives.

MURIC calls on civil societies within the country and the international community to take special note of this development. President Jonathan must be made accountable to his pledge to leave on May 29.

Professor Ishaq Akintola,

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)