10th February, 2025
PRESS RELEASE:
GOV ABIODUN
SETTING TRAP FOR OGUN MUSLIMS – MURIC
The governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, on
Tuesday, 4th February, 2025, claimed that he had rejected the
establishment of a Shari’ah court in Ogun State. He also called on those behind
it to immediately ‘disband the illegal entity and all its apparatus’.
However, an Islamic human rights organization, the
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has described the governor’s statement as speculative,
provocative, manipulative and opportunistic.
In a statement captioned ‘Governor Abiodun Setting
Trap For Ogun Muslims’ and circulated to the media on Monday, 10th
February, 2025, the Executive Director of MURIC, Professor Ishaq Akintola, accused
the governor of attempting to outdo Seyi Makinde of Oyo State in scapegoating
Muslims, profiling and stereotyping them.
According to MURIC:
“The governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, on
Tuesday, 4th February, 2025, claimed that he had rejected the
establishment of a Shari’ah court in Ogun State. He also called on those behind
it to immediately ‘disband the illegal entity and all its apparatus’ (https://punchng.com/abiodun-kicks-as-group-launches-ogun-sharia-court-invites-litigants/).
“Abiodun’s statement is speculative,
provocative, manipulative and opportunistic. He danced to the gallery created
by unrepentant irredentists, sugarcoated mouthers, social media megaphones and
merchants of anarchy.
“It will be recalled that Governor Abiodun’s
neighbour and co-Redeemer, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, issued similar
threats against Muslims of Oyo State on 24th December, 2024 (https://www.vanguardngr.com/2024/12/makinde-responds-to-sharia-court-controversy-vows-to-uphold-the-law/).
“It seems Governor Abiodun wants to
outdo Seyi Makinde of Oyo State in scapegoating Muslims. This informal
executive competition in which the two governors seek to out-Herod Herod in
making life unbearable for Muslims in their states must not go unchallenged.
Yoruba Muslims must use every legitimate means available to stop the
oppression.
“The governments of Oyo and Ogun states are weaponising
state paraphernalia to stem the practice of Islam and the proper worship of
Allah as He should be worshipped in Yorubaland. These governors are clamping
down on Muslims. They want to silence the voice of Islam. They are intolerant
Christian governors.
“We affirm emphatically that Muslims are aware
that they can demand Shari’ah courts but they cannot establish it. Only the
state government can establish Shari’ah courts and this is not in contention.
But Muslims can establish Shari’ah panels because the latter are ordinary
committees operated inside mosques.
“Shari’ah panels constitute alternative dispute resolution
(ADR) mechanism recognized by law and Muslims are free to use their mosques for
the settlement of disputes among themselves without seeking approval from any
government before establishing them. There is no law anywhere in the Nigerian Constitution
that makes the establishment of Shari’ah panels illegal.
“To Muslims in Yorubaland we have
this to say: Do not fear those who are harassing you on the issue of Shari’ah. It
is mandatory that you know your Allah-given fundamental human rights. Shari’ah
is your right.
“You have the right to assemble
in your mosques for worship, for meetings, for settlement of disputes (as in Shari’ah
panel), for Islamic weddings, for naming ceremonies (‘aqiiqah), for Qur’an
graduations (Walimah), for turbanning and for similar programmes.
“It is not the business of any state government in
the South-West or elsewhere to dictate to Muslims how they should worship Allah
or how they should use their mosques so long as those using the mosques do not
disturb public peace or constitute palpable threat to the lives of other
citizens.
“What MURIC will not support is violence, whether
against fellow Muslims, against Christians, against traditionalists or any
group or individual whatsoever. Islam is a religion of peace.
“We charge Muslim leaders and
Islamic organisations to break the suffocating yoke of silence. Muslims must
speak out. We must put an end to this mental slavery imposed on Yoruba Muslims by
the imperialists. This mental enslavement of Yoruba Muslims was first perpetrated
by the British Christian colonialists and it is currently being perpetuated by agents
of feudalism, neo-colonialism and neo-imperialism.
“The witch cried yesterday, the child died today,
is there any cause for postmortem? Makinde cried three weeks ago. The
Eleyi of Ogun State wailed last week. What else could be more symptomatic of an
executive conspiracy to wipe off all vestiges of Islam from the land of Oduduwa?
“It is a coordinated affront. With this approach,
the governors of Oyo and Ogun, in particular, give the impression that they have
constituted a council of Christian governors whose sole mandate is to wage a
vicious war against Islam and the Muslims in the South-West.
“Ekiti governor does not appear
to actually belong to this category because of his liberal approach to
governance. He has shared power with Muslims and he continues to do so. The
anti-Shariah uproar in his state did not come directly from him.
“But we find the governors of Oyo and Ogun states
complicit in the emerging threats, harrassments and intimidations against
Muslim leaders, activists and proponents of civil Shari’ah in the land.
“In saner climes, those who issue threats are
treated as terrorists and made to face the full wrath of the law. But these two
governors turned blind eyes at those who threatened violence against Muslim
leaders and members of their families as well as supporters of Shari’ah.
“Surprisingly, the two governors started firing
from all cylinders at the same Muslims who were being threatened. Without any
tangible evidence, they accused Muslims in their states of establishing Shari’ah
courts. Seyi Makinde in particular wrongfully and ignorantly labelled Shari’ah
as unconstitutional.
“This was how the duo of Makinde and Abiodun used
the paraphernalia of their states to incite non-Muslims against Muslims. They
claimed Muslims had set up ‘illegal’ Shari’ah courts whereas it was not true.
What the Muslims have are ordinary Shari’ah panels or committees which have no power
of enforcement.
“Interestingly, these Shari’ah panels have been in
their states long before the two became governors and have remained functioning
since their inauguration as governors. That of Oyo State was established on 1st
May, 2000 and it sits inside Oja Oba Central Mosque, Ibadan. Ogun State
Shari’ah panel has been meeting interested Muslims inside Egba Central Mosque,
Kobiti, Abeokuta, since 2018 to date. So what’s the hocus-pocus about?
“To actualize a game plan, Muslims who have jumped
the fence are rail-roaded into publicly challenging Muslim leaders. Sometimes,
fake Muslim names and hitherto unknown ‘Islamic’ organisations are used to
issue threats against Muslim leaders. This is the regular pattern. This is
their sinister modus operandi.
“The operation enjoys robust funding, perhaps from
the ‘Ogas at the top’. Firstly, those using the fake Muslim names are
encouraged to issue statements against Shari’ah and to threaten mayhem. Next,
the governors go public, declaring Shari’ah illegal and threatening its
proponents with a crackdown. It is a well known pattern.
“In the latest attempt to set a
trap for Muslim leaders in his state, Abiodun cried wolf, claiming that a
Shariah court was about to be established. Yet our investigations revealed
there was no substance in the chief executive’s alarm. No single Muslim leader
in the state seemed to know about the planned launching of a Shari’ah court.
“Yet a Shari’ah panel has existed in the state
since 17th January, 2018. Perhaps this was his target? Was it a
trap? Was the noise designed to scare Muslims away from the existing Shari’ah
panel at Kobiti? Well, Governor Abiodun will have to do more than that.
“To that extent we hold Abiodun and Makinde
responsible for scapegoating Muslims, for stereotyping and profiling them. We
note the way Governor Abiodun has been setting traps for Muslim leaders in his
state. Ditto for the Eleyi of Agodi.
“We urge Islamic organisations in Yorubaland to
remember who to hold responsible should there be any attack on their persons,
families and properties by irredentists and Muslim-haters in the nearest
future. Responsible governors do not incite their citizens against any individual
or group of people.
“Fortunately there are international organisations
whose jobs are to fish out those who commit crimes against humanity. Holding an
executive government position is no immunity against prosecution in future. Neither
is being a separatist agitator a licence. We will finger all big and small
collaborators if Muslims are targeted for killing. So will other Islamic
organisations.
“Jean-Pierre Bemba of the Central African Republic
(CAR), Laurent Gbagbo of Côte d'Ivoire, Saleh Jerbo of Darfur, Germain Katanga
of Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), etc are still cooling their heels in
jail after being indicted at the Hague for crimes against humanity. Anyone who
starts attacks on Yoruba Muslims is warming up to join them at the Hague. The
world is a small village.”
#GorvernorAbiodun
#GovernorMakinde
#StopAnti-MuslimAntics
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Founder/Executive Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
