ENSURE TERROR-FREE CHRISTMAS

20^th December, 2015,

PRESS RELEASE:

ENSURE TERROR-FREE CHRISTMAS

Christian faithfuls in Nigeria and other parts of the world will be celebrating Christmas in the next three days. The season is a period of festivities characterized by huge assemblies inside churches and the gathering of large crowds in public places, gardens and amusement centers. It is also expected to involve massive human traffic on the roads as well as the airports.

Unfortunately the past four or five years have witnessed deadly terrorist attacks on churches and motor parks in Northern Nigeria particularly during the yuletide. The attacks have recorded high casualty figures as well as collateral damages.

Worse still, the attacks have widened the gap between Christians and Muslims as the former accused the latter of sponsoring, encouraging and harbouring the hoodlums. Nigeria moved dangerously close to religious war.

The interfaith suspicions did not abate until it became clear that even mosques and Islamic scholars were falling victims. It was the sincere and laudable efforts of the new administration which injected a new dose of determination into the military thereby enabling them to recapture territories occupied by the Boko Haram insurgents.   

As Northern Nigeria breathes the air of freedom, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) warns that it is not over until it is over. Though grossly debilitated, Boko Haram is still very dangerous. It is now like a wounded lion. This informs the guerrilla tactics recently being adopted by the deadly group. It may want to strike during yuletide, at least to make a point.

We therefore jog the memories of the Nigerian security agencies in this regard. We call for tremendous coordination among the different arms: the army, the police, the secret services, the civil defence, etc. We also appeal to all Nigerians to be on the tiptoes of unprecedented alertness especially in public places like airports, markets, motor parks and schools.

In particular, we advise officials in churches and mosques to set up internal networking capable of facilitating communication among their followers. This will enable members who have useful information but who have no easy and quick access to security agents to pass such information to church or mosque officials who are close to them.  Strange faces must be reported immediately before they can wreak any havoc. People who stand together survive together.

Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
08182119714

DON’T JOIN ALL-MUSLIM ALLIANCE

18^th December, 2015,

PRESS RELEASE:

DON’T JOIN ALL-MUSLIM ALLIANCE

The Federal Government (FG) said yesterday that it had not yet decided whether or not to join the all-Muslim alliance. The all-Muslim alliance is a 34-nation military coalition led by Saudi Arabia.

        

While the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) commends FG for not rushing into the coalition, we advise that Nigeria should stay away from the Islamic military bloc.

The major reason for adopting this line of thinking is the multi-religious status of our country. Nigeria is neither a theocratic state nor is it a secular one. This country is made up of two major religious groups (Christians and Muslims) as well as several other traditional religious societies whose number is dictated by the number of its ethnic groups.

A military coalition with a religious colouring will no doubt ignite another controversy.  Anybody who thinks it will favour Nigerian Muslims should check his records again. We affirm clearly, emphatically and unequivocally that Nigerian Muslims do not need an Islamic military coalition. We are not at war with our Christian neighbours.  

 A religious military bloc is an ill wind that blows nobody any good. Nigeria has enough security problems on its hands.

We must also remember that the Boko Haram saga nearly caused religious war between Christians and Muslims because the former misunderstood the setting ab initio thereby accusing the latter of sponsoring the hoodlums. Nigeria’s involvement in an all-Muslim military alliance will revive those fears.

Nigeria is presently leading a non-religious regional coalition against Boko Haram. The same coalition should suffice to battle any form of terrorist threat in the West African subregion. We should not venture into an international all-Muslim alliance.

This is not an Islamic state and, contrary to the misleading perception in some quarters, Nigerian Muslims are not in the least interested in turning this country into an Islamic republic.

All we want is to peacefully coexist with our Christian and traditionalist neighbours while all we demand from them is just to leave us alone and allow us to be what we are.

Finally, we warn that a military bloc with an Islamic nomenclature is the last group Nigeria should join. This all-Muslim alliance is designed for countries with around 90% Muslim population. It is meant for Arab countries and others like Indonesia, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Nigeria must keep it at bay.   

Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
08182119714

BAN ON WOMEN IN HIJAB FROM LG POLL: IT IS ULTRA VIRES

17^th December, 2015,

PRESS RELEASE:

BAN ON WOMEN IN HIJAB FROM LG POLL:

IT IS ULTRA VIRES

The Ekiti State Independent Electoral Commission (EKSIEC) yesterday banned women in hijab from partaking in the local government elections taking place on Saturday.      

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) condemns this action. It is illegal, unconstitutional and therefore untenable. We put it to EKSIEC that its action is ultra vires and cannot stand the test of law. It is also provocation of the highest order and therefore quite unexpected of a mature and responsible authority.

Coming just 48 hours to the commencement of voting, the government of Ayodele Fayose has marked itself out as a confusionist and an undisguised anarchist. Most importantly, Fayose has simply decided to finish the dirty job of a hatchet man, the hangsman specially designated to victimize, oppress and dehumanize Ekiti Muslims, a stinking job which he started since he became governor in Ekiti State.

It will be recalled that Fayose formed an all-Christian government after assumption of office earlier this year. His open bigotry and untethered hatred for Muslims makes him the governor with the worst record of Christian-Muslim relations Nigeria ever had.

Fayose has completely shut out Muslims who have a very large population in the state from his government. His deputy governor, secretary to the state government, all 14 commissioners, all 26 permanent secretaries are all Christians.  Little wonder therefore that Fayose had no qualms stigmatizing Muslims, marginalizing them and disenfranchising them.

With his latest action, Fayose has proved to the whole world that he lacks vision, suffers from poverty of dignity and he is in dire need of internship in exemplary leadership.

We charge the Muslims of Ekiti State not to allow Fayose to intimidate them. Any election from which any section of the population is banned without having committed any offence cannot stand in law. It is a kangaroo election.

Nonetheless, we advocate submission to the rule of law. Ekiti Muslims are advised to remain peaceful and law abiding. EKSIEC has erred in law and the Muslims of the state must challenge this draconian declaration in a competent court of the land. Allah-given fundamental rights of Muslim women in Ekiti must be enforced via peaceful and constitutional means. The courts will decide.  

Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
08182119714

PROBE THE ARMY FOR KILLING MUSLIMS IN ZARIA

14^th December, 2015,

PRESS RELEASE:

PROBE THE ARMY FOR KILLING MUSLIMS IN ZARIA

A detachment of the Nigerian Army on Saturday, 12^th December, 2015 opened fire on unarmed members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria who were holding a peaceful procession on the streets of Zaria, Kaduna State.      

The Islamic organization claimed that hundreds of its members were mowed down in cold blood. Among those killed were Hajia Zeenat and Aliy, wife and son of the organization’s leader respectively. Among top members of the organization who were killed were Shaykh Mustapha Sa’eed, Shaykh Ibrahim Usman, Shaykh Jummai Gilima and Shaykh Muhammad Turi, the leader of the Kano Center of the group.

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) strongly condemns this massacre of peace-loving and law-abiding citizens. We denounce the well-known belligerent posture of the Nigerian military towards unarmed civilians as manifested in this massacre. It is reckless, lawless and barbaric. It is wanton exhibition of lack of respect for human life and an open infringement on Allah-given fundamental human rights of defenceless Nigerians. It is impunity of the highest order.

We reject the army’s claim of reacting to an attempt by the group to assassinate the life of the Chief of General Staff. It is laughable, ridiculous and unacceptable. It is an infantile after-thought, a cock and bull story to which only the marines will listen.

The Islamic Movement of Nigeria has no record of violence during its annual processions. On the contrary, the Nigerian Army seems to have marked the group for elimination as manifested in its unprovoked attack on the group in July last year (2014) which claimed the lives of three of Shaykh Al-Zakzaky’s sons as well as more than thirty other members of the group.

The army’s claim that the procession blocked the access road appears more plausible but it could only have slowed down the movement of traffic and does not warrant a massacre of this proportion.

In comparison, the disruption of traffic movement caused by the Islamic organization in Zaria is a child’s play when considered against the background of the notorious blockade and heavy traffic caused by the Redeemed Church on Lagos-Ibadan expressway which causes untold suffering to thousands of travelers.

Thousands of commuters and road users are known to have slept on the road as a result of the traffic congestion caused by the church on Lagos-Ibadan expressway. Many programmes have failed because of the holdup. Weddings have been truncated as either the bride or the groom (or both) were held up in the traffic conundrum. Hundreds of motorists have been forced to turn round and return to their destinations for the same reason.

Is the Nigerian Army telling us that none of its vehicles have ever been caught in the traffic gridlock on Lagos-Ibadan expressway? Did the soldiers get down and start shooting members of the Redeeemed Church who caused the gridlock? Something is seriously wrong here. We can see different strokes for different folks.

By the way, is it not an open secret that Al-Zakyzaky’s members hold their procession once annually or at least during their festivals? Is it also not well known that apart from some of its special programmes, the Redeemed Church programmes come up at least once every month (every first Friday of the month)?

This translates to the Muslim group disturbing traffic once or twice in a year while the Christian group causes traffic congestion more than twelve times in a year. How is the Nigerian Army able to stomach the group that disturbs so frequently but it descends heavily and murderously on the group whose frequency is less?

This killing is one too many. It must not go uninvestigated and unpunished. The army must be accountable. Our democracy is a fraud if soldiers will not submit themselves to civil authority.

Heads must roll in the military for this latest extra-judicial killing otherwise nobody will be safe from military rascality in future. We are not in the days of military rule. The Nigerian Army must be subjected to the rule of law. It is high time Nigerians were told who is in control: General Muhammadu Buhari or the military?      

We remind Nigerians of the root of the current Boko Haram insurgency. We must look back and remember where we came from because today was born from the wombs of yesterday. Members of Boko Haram started peacefully until their leader was killed extra-judicially and their headquarters was destroyed by machine gun-wielding and armoured tank-brandishing troops.

The latest trigger-happiness in the Nigerian army is capable of repeating history. We do not want a situation whereby members of Al-Zakyzaky’s organization who have hitherto been peaceful will become radicalized and militarized. The only way to ensure that this does not happen is to punish those who gave the order for the massacre. We therefore submit a case of use of excessive force on unarmed civilians against the Nigerian Army.

Without prejudice to the army’s highhandedness in this matter, Al-Zakyzaky’s followers should organize their rallies with civility. They should engage the services of traffic policemen and arrange their members in a thin line of two in a row.

Our investigation revealed that the Emir of Zaria Alhaji Shehu Idris once changed his route due to the heavy traffic caused by the organization’s long procession. Even former Governor Mukhtar Yero was once affected. We appeal to the leaders of Zazzau Emirate to dialogue with Shaykh Al-Zakzaky with a view to finding a lasting solution to the problem.

MURIC invites the National Assembly (NASS) to quickly wade into the matter. We appeal to the Defence Committee of the two arms of the NASS to probe the killings and to pursue the matter to a logical conclusion. We also demand adequate compensation for the families of those murdered by the army.

It is most disturbing that Al-Zakzaky’s members claim that their leader’s whereabouts is unknown. There are rumours that the army arrested him. We hereby demand that he should be produced safe and sound latest by tomorrow, Tuesday, 15^th December, 2015.

The law says no Nigerian should be detained beyond 48 hours after which he should be produced in court. We advise the Shaykh’s followers to approach a competent court to seek the enforcement of the Shaykh’s fundamental human rights should the army fail to produce him as requested.

Finally, we hereby request the Nigerian Human Rights Commission to investigate the circumstances surrounding this gruesome massacre. We call on the international community to put pressure on the Nigerian authorities and their military to check the latter’s aggressiveness, lawlessness and criminal propensity. The human rights record of the Nigerian military is at all time low.

At a time when the whole world is seeking ways of de-radicalising extremists, the Nigerian military appears bent on militarizing peace-loving and law-abiding Islamic organizations.     

Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
08182119714