TERROR THREAT: CHIDI CALLS FOR NEW ZEALAND TREATMENT FOR NIGERIAN MUSLIMS

18^th March, 2019

PRESS RELEASE:

TERROR THREAT: CHIDI CALLS FOR NEW ZEALAND TREATMENT FOR NIGERIAN MUSLIMS

A Nigerian Christian who goes by the name Comrade Chidi has called for the New Zealand treatment for Nigerian Muslims. Chidi made this call in a tweet sent on Saturday, 16^th March, 2019. His tweet was sent at exactly 5.15 pm on his twitter handle @legitchidi under the name Comrade Chidi.

Commenting on Chidi’s tweet, an Islamic human rights organization, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has called for the immediate arrest, detention and prosecution of Chidi for making undisguised terror threat against his fellow Nigerians. MURIC’s comments were contained in a press statement issued on Monday, 18^th March, 2019.

The statement added, “This is an open and direct terror threat against Nigerian Muslims. It is a call for chaos. Chidi’s call must be seen beyond just a call. This kind of person will go for mass killing of Muslims if he has access to any automatic weapon. Unfortunately that will not prove a challenge to him because already there is a proliferation of dangerous weapons around the country particularly now that we have just concluded the 2019 general elections”.   

The Director of MURIC, Professor Ishaq Akintola, who signed the statement, continued, “This man is not joking. He is dead serious. His exact words in the tweet show how serious he is. His words were, ‘Let them shift to Abuja Central Mosque abeg…we need them there’.

“A smart lawyer may want to trivialize that statement made by Chidi in his tweet. He may want to tell us that the pronoun ‘them’ in the tweet can be anybody. But Chidi’s reference to ‘them’ can be clearly deciphered by going backward to an earlier tweet by Dr. Joe Abah @DrJoeAbah.

“The latter had tweeted, ‘Why would anybody just go into a mosque where people are praying and kill them? Why? We must condemn all forms of extremism: religious, racial, ideological or political’. #NewZealandMosqueAttacks.

“This was the tweet to which Chidi responded. The fact that Dr. Joe Abah ended his tweet with #NewZealandMosqueAttacks makes Chidi’s target very clear. There is no iota of doubt, therefore, about who Chidi’s pronoun ‘them’ is referring to. That ‘them’ is clearly meant for the terrorists who killed 49 innocent Muslims who were praying inside mosques in New Zealand the previous day (Friday, 15^th March, 2019). The terrorists also injured about 21 other Muslims.

“We charge the Nigerian security agencies to go after Comrade Chidi. He must be arrested and detained before he can carry out his planned mass murder. He should also be publicly prosecuted in order to serve as a deterrent to other criminally minded individuals like him.

MURIC also demanded tight security around mosques in view of the New Zealand incident. Akintola said, “The safety of Muslims who attend mosques is attracting greater attention in security circles in civilized environments.  Muslims have become endangered species around the globe and Nigerian security agencies should not be caught napping. Nowadays in America, uniformed and fully armed policemen stand by as Muslims offer Jumu’ah prayers in their mosques. Nothing stops the Nigerian police from doing the same.

“We therefore request for the visible presence of armed security personnel in every mosque around the country particularly during Jumu‘ah prayer on Fridays when mosques are filled to capacity.

“We make a similar request for our Christian neighbours. Armed policemen should be visible near churches around the country every Sunday during worship hours. MURIC’s interest lies in the safety of all, Christians and Muslims. Every Nigerian has the right to belong to the religion of his or her desire and no one has the right to kill worshippers.  

“On a final note, we call on Nigerians to realise that there are criminal elements and extremists in all religions. This is the reality we all must face. Each group must condemn the extremists in its midst and make them accountable before they turn peace-loving and law-abiding Nigerians against themselves in a war of attrition.

It is therefore high time we heeded the advice of the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, that both Christians and Muslims should unite to fight the evil ones in their midst”.

Professor Ishaq Akintola,

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)

MURIC CONDEMNS CHRISTIAN TERRORISM IN NEWZEALAND

16^th March, 2019

PRESS RELEASE:

MURIC CONDEMNS CHRISTIAN TERRORISM IN NEWZEALAND     

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has condemned the massacre of forty nine (49) innocent Muslim worshippers which occurred during Jumu‘ah prayer in ChristChurch, New Zealand yesterday Friday 15^th March, 2019. Dozens of worshippers were also injured. The perpetrator has been identified as 29-year-old Australian citizen, Brenton Harrison Tarrant.      

MURIC, an Islamic human rights organization, described the killing as a sadistic, vicious and brutish terrorist act. MURIC’s reaction was contained in a press statement issued on Saturday, 16^th March, 2019. The statement was signed by the group’s director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.

“This is terrorism at its height and a crime against humanity. This killer, Brenton Harrison Tarrant, is a Christian terrorist, a white supremacist and a monster. It was a blood-chilling incident.

“We wonder if there is no conspiracy somewhere. How did he have close to 20 minutes to operate in two different mosques without a single police officer taking him down? He drove from the first mosque after killing many Muslims and even had the time to wait on the street for pedestrians to cross. Then he drove to the second mosque and continued the dastardly act.

“This is a cold-blooded premeditated terrorist act. It was horrendous. We suspect that the terrorist did not act alone. Logistics must have been provided by somebody or some people. This is the mystery the New Zealand authorities have to unravel.  

“However, we denounce the reluctance of the Western press and its cronies to describe the killing as a Christian terrorist act in the same way that they have always been eager to describe other killings as Islamic terrorism. This New Zealand massacre has no other nomenclature. It is Christian terrorism, loud and clear.

“We condemn selective labeling of crimes. A terrorist act is a terrorist act, no matter the background of the perpetrator. But it is hypocritical to limit terrorism to Muslims alone while the Western press and its surrogates find soft landing semantics for those who commit worse crimes against Muslims.

“Criminally-minded individuals and groups abound in all faiths and in all cultures. It is therefore unfair to label Muslims alone as terrorists. This year alone, between January and February 2019, several terrorist acts were perpetrated on American soil and none was traced to a Muslim. Yet none was labelled as a terrorist act.

“On January 23, 2019, Zephen Xaver, 21, killed five women at the SunTrust Bank in Sebring, Florida. On January 26, 2019, Dakota Theriot, 21, fatally shot his parents and three other people in Ascension and Livingston churches, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Again on February 15, 2019, Gary Montez Martin, a 45-year-old American, killed six people and injured another six.

“The anatomy of terrorism is becoming clearer day by day.  Those who accuse Muslims of violence and terrorism should ponder over the causal-effect theory. Violence and terrorism are mere symtoms. The real disease is injustice and provocation. Violence and terrorism are mere smoke. Injustice is the fire.

“We all know that there is no smoke without fire and it is the height of stupidity for firefighters to turn their water hoses towards the smoke, leaving the fire to continue raging. Justice is the soul of peace. Those who deny one cannot enjoy the other. This is MURIC’s analysis of the symbiotic relationship between injustice, provocation, violence and terrorism.

“Our solace lies in the belief that the victims died as martyrs. Al-Jannah is therefore guaranteed for them, moreso since their killing occurred during worship. It is the heartless killer and all those who helped him who will burn ad infinitum in hell. We pray for the families they left behind. May Allah grant them the spiritual, moral and material fortitude to bear the loss.  

“Before we fold our mats, we charge the New Zealand authorities to ensure that justice is done. The families of the victims of this terror act must be adequately compensated.  It is our considered opinion that crimes should be related to individual criminals and not to their religions, country or tribe”.

Professor Ishaq Akintola,

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)

FANI-KAYODE IS A LIAR, A WAR-MONGER

13^th March, 2019

PRESS RELEASE:

FANI-KAYODE IS A LIAR, A WAR-MONGER    

Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode yesterday claimed that the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar said Atiku would win if he went to court. Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president of Nigeria, is the presidential candidate of the main opposition party in the just concluded 2019 general elections.

Nonetheless, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has debunked Fani-Kayode’s claim. MURIC, an Islamic human rights organization, described Fani-Kayode’s claim as false, baseless and malicious. MURIC’s reaction was contained in a press release signed by its Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola on Wednesday, 13^th March, 2019.

Explaining further, MURIC said, “It is unimaginable. Fani-Kayode probably woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Where and when did His Eminence the Sultan utter such words? Under what circumstances did he say Atiku would win if he went to court? Those words exist in the figment of Fani-Kayode’s imagination.

“What the Sultan said was quoted by several media outfits and none of them mentioned what Fani-Kayode ascribed to him. Addressing President Muhammadu Buhari in the presence of other traditional rulers, the Sultan said, ‘Your election as president for the second tenure should be seen as what God has destined which no man could have changed. This result is the will of Almighty God and therefore we call on all to give you maximum support for the achievement of peace, development and progress of our dear nation’. He then urged Atiku and those who lost to accept the will of God and support President Muhammadu Buhari to move the nation forward.

“Even on the platform of the Jamaatu Nasril Islam (JNI), the Sultan repeated the same message of peace. He said inter alia, ‘We call on all the political contenders in Nigeria to, in the name of Allah take it easy and sheath their swords as in every contest there will always be a winner and a loser.  

“So where did Fani-Kayode find the words ‘If you go to court you will win but there will be war’? What kind of editorial abracadabra inserted those words in His Eminence’s statement? It is diabolical and highly disrespectful. It is an attempt to cast aspersion on our leader. It is not only defamatory but slanderous.

“Fani-Kayode’s article was full of the most odious and insidious anti-North cum anti-Muslim vituperations and we are wondering if he knows the true identity of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. He spat venom against Northerners and Muslims as if Atiku hails from a different background.

“In the same vein, Fani-Kayode goaded Atiku and his supporters to go to war as if another country has been created for them to sojourn after setting Nigeria on fire. He spoke of his ‘brothers and sisters in the Lord’ being slaughtered in cold blood. For crying out loud, where do you group Atiku in all these? In which camp will Atiku be if you start your bloody war?

“There is no gainsaying that Fani-Kayode is a bundle of contradictions. You want to wage a crusade against Muslims but you are asking a Muslim to be your conquering knight. You want to destroy the North but you have chosen a core Northerner as the generalissimo. Is Fani-Kayode confused? Is he manifesting symptoms of Orubebemantis? Is he going paranoid? Whether the answers to these questions is yes or no, we have no scintilla of doubt that Fani-Kayode’s gymnastic war-mongering will fail woefully and Nigeria will survive.

“Fani-Kayode seeks to whip up cheap sentiment over killings as if only his ‘brothers and sisters in the Lord’ are the only victims. Who are those being killed in Borno, Zamfara and Katsina? Is it not the Muslims? Whose mosques are being bombed?

“MURIC affirms for the umpteenth time that Nigerian Muslims do not want war. We want to coexist peacefully with our Christian neighbours. The Sultan is an established man of peace. That is what he has been working for since he ascended the throne. That is why he is known as the people’s Sultan. We are not surprised that calumny is what Fani-kayode has to offer such a great leader. People can only give what they have anyway.   

“Again for the sake of microscopic clarity, we assert that Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar as the head of all Nigerian Muslims is a non-partisan personality. He has no interest in any political party or leader. He is a father-figure and all are his children. All political leaders visit him and he owes it a duty to listen to all of them. He remains neutral at the end of the day.

“As we draw the curtain, we invite Fani-Kayode and his cohorts to desist from brandishing banners of lies, to embrace the philosophy of peaceful coexistence, to love his neighbor like himself and to join hands with the Sultan and other well-meaning Nigerians to lift Nigeria to a higher pedestal. We advise Nigerian politicians to keep away from drugs so that their minds can remain focused while their actions remain consistently rational.

Professor Ishaq Akintola,

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)

FAYEMI’S LIST MARGINALISED MUSLIMS

12^th March, 2019

PRESS RELEASE:

FAYEMI’S LIST MARGINALISED MUSLIMS   

The Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, appointed advisers and chairmen of boards yesterday Monday, 11^th March, 2019.      

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has however described the list as falling below expectation. The Islamic human rights organization made its feeling known in a press statement distributed on Tuesday 12^th March, 2019, signed by its Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.

“We are disappointed that the governor still marginalised us this way. It is inexplicable. The list contained ten names. Two of the names look like Muslim names. Perhaps they think we will not crosscheck but we did. We always do. We have a branch in Ekiti and our officials there have their ears to the ground. You could get away with that kind of thing 15 years ago but not in these days of infotech. The world has become a tiny village.

“The only Muslim name on the list of ten is that of Alhaji Afolabi Ogunlayi. A second name which looked like that of a Muslim is that of Mr. Tajudeen Wale Ajayi but only Alhaji Ogunlayi is a bona fide Muslim. Tajudeen converted to Christianity a long time ago. His wife and all his children follow him to church. He has not been using that Muslim name for years but the state government decided to use it on the list just to blindfold Muslims in the state.

“Contrary to what the governor will want Muslims to believe, therefore, only one of the new appointees is a Muslim. This is grossly inadequate in view of what Muslims in the state went through in the hands of the former governor, Ayodele Fayose. This is still a raw deal. We deserve better.

“This is in spite of a forward-looking press statement issued by MURIC last week dated 5^th March 2019 under the caption ‘Balance Your Cabinet: MURIC Tells Fayemi’. The statement laid emphasis on the need for the state governor to redress wrongs done to Muslims by ensuring that they get adequate share of political appointments. This list is definitely not balanced. If anything, it is crudely lopsided.

“We hope those who rush to blame Muslims whenever the latter express displeasure are listening. We also hope the party leaders in the state are paying attention. We remind these leaders that in politics there is always a pay day in favour of oppressed minorities and marginalized groups. No wise politician will underestimate any group. Revenge is sweet when its dish is cold.

“It is not too late though. Governor Fayemi can still make amends as he is yet to announce his list of commissioners. But he should remember that he needs to consider making his cabinet inclusive. Already, the Deputy Governor, Chief of Staff (CS) and Secretary to the State Government (SSG) are all Christians. An all-Christian list of commissioners like that of Fayose or one in which only four out of 14 are Muslims will be deemed unfriendly, outrageous and provocative.

“We also wish to subtly remind Dr. Kayode Fayemi that the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Section 14(4) stipulates that “The composition of the Government of the Federation, a State, a local government council, or any of the agencies of such Government or council, and the conduct of the affairs of the Government or council or such agencies shall be carried out in such manner as to recognise the diversity of the people within its area of authority and the need to promote a sense of belonging and loyalty among all the people of the Federation”

“We are not unaware that party loyalists deserve appointments but definitely not at the detriment of other components of the society. Fayemi must not be governor over APC elements alone or over Christians in the state only. He must be father of all. Muslims must be given their due share.

“Perhaps it is pertinent here to mention the implications of fair sharing of political offices among the different components of the society. Economically, wealth will be evenly distributed once appointments are proportionately shared. Socially, no single group will be kept in the dark as to the activities of government. Politically, an isolated group is excluded from day to day decisions of government. It is no longer participatory democracy once a group is excluded from the dividends of democracy. Any marginalized group is therefore impoverished and kept in the dark. Muslims of Ekiti State are saying never again.

“As our concluding remarks, we call upon the Ekiti State governor not to leave the path of justice and fairness for which he was known during his first tenure as governor. Muslims deserve adequate attention in the formation of the new executive of Ekiti State”.

Professor Ishaq Akintola,

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)

MAINTAIN MILITARY PRESENCE DURING ELECTIONS

11^th March, 2019

PRESS RELEASE:

WE SUPPORT MILITARY PRESENCE DURING ELECTIONS 

Members of Nigeria’s main opposition party complained severally about the use of soldiers during the presidential and gubernatorial elections which ended yesterday.

Reacting to this development, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), a human rights organization, defended the use of soldiers for elections in Nigeria. According to MURIC, the use of soldiers in Nigeria’s elections has become mandatory.  

“There are two main reasons for which soldiers have to be used in elections these days. Firstly, Nigerian politicians and voters are yet to attain the level of sophistication of their counterparts in advanced countries. They are still neck-deep in bolekaja mentality. The average Nigerian politician wants to win either by the straights or by the bends. Our youth still allow themselves to be used for the snatching of ballot boxes and the intimidation of opponents.

“The death toll would have been higher while the pandemonium would have been worse had the government not deemed it wise to involve the military. It is paradoxical that the same wailers who complain of security lapses around the country are the first to object to the use of soldiers who are capable of reducing security breaches to their barest minimum.

“Secondly, the population of the Nigerian police is not sufficient to guarantee adequate security. With a population of 200 million, Nigeria cannot even boast of half a million policemen yet. The total number of our police force as at 2015 was 317,000. Two batches of recruitments have taken place since President Muhammadu Buhari took over. His predecessor did not even care. The United Nations recommended at least one policeman to every 448 persons. So Nigeria is still under-policed.

“Since Nigeria is yet to meet global best practices in terms of policing the entire landmass, soldiers have to be drafted in to make up for the deficit. But even this is not enough because our soldiers are already overstretched. They are virtually everywhere nowadays. They are in every spot where there is security threat: Zamfara, Kaduna, Benue, South East and of course, the North East where they are keeping watchful eyes on Boko Haram insurgents. Yet the military’s total number may not be more than one-third of the total number of policemen!”

Professor Ishaq Akintola, the Director of MURIC who signed the statement which was dated Monday, 11^th March, 2019, lamented the loss of lives in Saturday’s gubernatorial and state assembly elections.

“It is regrettable that Nigerians resorted to killing and maiming over the resolution of political issues. We condemn the killings and all forms of violence which occurred during this and other elections. It is callous, brutish and barbaric”.

Akintola also had an axe to grind with critics of military involvement in elections.

“Those who are now criticizing the Buhari regime for involving the military in the 2019 elections are either being insincere or they are suffering from collective amnesia. Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan invaded the State of Osun with thousands of hooded soldiers during the Osun election of 2014. He repeated the same thing in Ekiti and in the 2015 general elections. The same people who are crying wolf today applauded Jonathan’s use of soldiers. What goes around comes around.

“We are nonplussed that the opposition complains of intimidation today. Have they forgotten so soon? Have they forgotten how Jonathan used soldiers to out-Herod Herod in 2015? Soldiers were permanently stationed in front of Chief Bola Tinubu’s house at Bourdillon, Ikoyi during the 2015 elections. Lai Muhammed was arrested. The security aides of opposition governors were withdrawn by Jonathan. 

“For appointing Sanusi Lamido as Emir of Kano which was within the rights and powers of the Kano State Government, Jonathan ordered security agents to lay siege at the Emir's palace. For days, the Emir operated from the Kano State Government House.

“Jonathan withdrew the security details attached to then Governor Amaechi, grounded his plane forcing Amaechi to drive himself from Kano to Abuja.  

Sitting Governors were prevented from reaching a part of the country to support the reelection of one of their own because they were in the opposition.

“Yet wailers have the effrontery to complain of deployment of soldiers to provide security during this 2019 elections. We contend that soldiers deployed in this 2019 election were there for security, unlike Jonathan’s soldiers who were used to rig election in Ekiti State. The indubitable evidence of Ekitigate is still in the archives. Jonathan’s soldiers also ambushed daily newspapers distributions. They were seized and destroyed without explanation.

MURIC also sought the understanding of Britain and other foreign governments on the issue of military’s involvement in election matters.

“We are appealing to our friends from outside Nigeria. There is a need to understand the peculiarities of nations and their behavioral patterns. Violence often accompanies elections in most African countries and the governments of these countries have to control it by inviting soldiers without necessarily having ulterior motives.   

“On a final note, MURIC commends the professional conduct of soldiers and police personnel during the 2019 elections. We recommend the continued use of soldiers to maintain security during elections until Nigeria comes of age in terms of political maturity and self-sufficiency in security. Those who are wailing over the deployment of military personnel in the 2019 elections only need to turn the pages of history to 2014 and 2015”. 

Professor Ishaq Akintola,

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)

WITHDRAW YOUR QUERY: MURIC TELLS NBA

11^th March, 2019

PRESS RELEASE:

WITHDRAW YOUR QUERY: MURIC TELLS NBA 

 The prosecution counsel of the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Walter Onnoghen, has been given a query by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for taking the brief. The prosecution counsel, Mr. Aliyu Umar, has told NBA that he would not respond to the query until Onnoghen’s case has been determined by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).      

Meanwhile an Islamic human rights organization has described NBA’s action as reactionary, repugnant and condescending. MURIC expatiated further in a press statement signed by its Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, on Monday, 11^th March, 2019, that NBA’s action was anti-people and unpatriotic.

“We are bewildered by NBA’s latest action. They are determined to make it impossible for the suspended CJN to be prosecuted. In other words, NBA is telling Nigerians that the man is above the law. This is contrary to the principles of justice, fairness and equality before the law which lawyers have been pushing down our throats for ages.

“Are we no longer equal before the law? Has the temple of justice become George Orwell’s Animal Farm where ‘four legs are good but two legs better?’ Nigerians are waiting for an answer. Nay, the world too is watching. The world is waiting to see how much cover Nigeria’s body of lawyers will give to one of them who is accused of corruption.

“How has accepting a brief become crime? NBA’s action is an indisputable disservice to the rule of law. It is repulsive to the law of natural justice. This action has a very strong potential of breaking NBA along the North-South dichotomy.

“Pray, what does NBA want? What is NBA afraid of? NBA took on the man who accepted appointment as Acting CJN. Now it has queried the SAN who took the brief. It also allegedly demanded his call to bar certificate. Clandestine moves are being made to delist him as a lawyer. This is the height of intimidation.

“We demand that NBA withdraws its query from the prosecution counsel in order to save its good name. That query is unacceptable. It contravenes the principle of natural justice. It translates to an attempt to coerce the prosecution and interrupt the cause of justice. NBA is simply obstructing justice, exerting undue influence on the prosecution and retarding the rule of law. These are grave allegations in any sane society.

“By issuing a query to the prosecuting counsel, NBA is also promoting impunity, encouraging corruption and jettisoning the moral angle which is more important to Nigerians. NBA should remember that the law is made for human beings and not vice versa.

“We call on senior members of the profession to call NBA to order. Conscienceless power should not be allowed to persecute powerless conscience in the circle of learned men. It is the path to the destruction of all modicum of integrity left in any society.

“MURIC commends the prosecution counsel, Aliyu Umar SAN, for exhibiting uncommon courage. We charge him to remain undaunted. Nigerians are not the fools some people take them for. They are watching proceedings in the court of public opinion. They are the ones who will decide whose names go to the hall of fame and whose names are dropped in the dustbin of history.

“In our concluding remarks, we affirm clearly, categorically and unequivocally that Nigerians reject NBA’s query to the prosecution counsel. We therefore demand the its unconditional withdrawal. We charge NBA to desist from attempts to provide illegal cover for corrupt colleagues, whether they are senior or junior”.  

Professor Ishaq Akintola,

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)