12th August,
2020
PRESS RELEASE:
ISWAP MONEY: MURIC UNCOVERS
SOURCE OF FAKE NEWS: DEMANDS PUBLIC APOLOGY FROM EX-MAJOR
The Islamic human rights association, the Muslim
Rights Concern (MURIC) which was accused of collecting money from a terrorist
group, the Islamic State for West Africa Province (ISWAP), says it has
uncovered the source of the fake news. MURIC pointed accusing finger at a
retired major in the Nigerian Army, Layo Akinlade Tunde. MURIC has demanded a
public apology from the ex-major.
A press statement signed by MURIC’s Director,
Professor Ishaq Akintola, on Wednesday, 12th August, 2020, described
the story as unfounded rumour and fake news triggered by Islamophobia.
“It is Muslim-haters exploiting the gullibility of
Nigerians. The fake news came from a retired major in the Nigerian Army, Layo Akinlade
Tunde. He sent the post to a social media group known as ‘The Voice of Omo-Oba
Onijebu (Progeny of the Owner of All Known Ijebuland)’. This was circulated
among the group’s members and it came to the public terrain through them.
“Our
investigation reveals that the Sahara Strategy Group (SSG) which allegedly
organised the so called conference in Abidjan does not exist. We could not find
the name per se on Google. What we found was Sahara Group which is a power
generation company, Sahara Foundation at Sahara Group Limited, Sahara Group
Talent and Entrepreneurship Programme (STEP) and Sahara Energy Resource. The
only evidence of the existence of a Sahara Strategy Group on Google is the fake
story which originated from Major Loye Akinlade Tunde (rtd). To the best of our
knowledge, therefore, the group is a phantom.
“Neither could we find evidence of the existence of
the so called San Louis Keita, the Malian ex-intelligence chief who was quoted
as making the allegation against MURIC. No trace of San Louis Keita on Google.
What was prominent in our Google search was a certain Aboubacar Keita, a
popular footballer. We are wondering why a whole former intelligence chief of a
country will be missing in a global search engine. As far as we are concerned,
therefore, San Louis Keita, like the Sahara Strategy Group, exists only in the
imagination of Loye Akinlade.
“It is also interesting that no media house
published the story of any money received by MURIC before Akinlade posted it to
his group. Akinlade is not a journalist. He is a retired soldier. So where did
he get the story from? This is important because it shows that he is the origin
of the fake news. Announcements on the facebook of Major Loye Akinlade Tunde
(rtd) revealed that he is a member and strong ideologue of the Oduduwa ‘nation’.
“We are also amused that Chief Femi Fani-Kayode (FFK)
yesterday called on the Federal Government to investigate the link between
MURIC and ISWAP. That was immediately after the fake news broke out. FFK is a
known hater of Muslims and he recently engaged in bitter altercations with the
Director of MURIC. FFK is a major proponent of Oduduwa Republic and MURIC is a
major critic of the idea. He therefore has a motive.
“MURIC
does not oppose investigations into the allegation of receiving money from a
terrorist organisation but the source of the fake news must be the starting
point. Where did the retired major get his information? Is there any link
between him and FFK? What are the roles being played by FFK and Akinlade in the
proposed Oduduwa Republic? The Director of MURIC has received death threats for
opposing the idea of the Yoruba breaking away from Nigeria.
“It is on record that FFk personally threatened to
deal with opponents of the Oduduwa movement after establishing Oduduwa. Is the attempt
to rope MURIC into a terrorist case FFK’s way of getting his pound of flesh? Is
Major Akinlade (rtd) an accomplice in this regard?
“MURIC contends that the whole story about collecting
money from ISWAP is fake news triggered by Islamophobia. This is an existential
threat to the religion of Islam and Muslims in general throughout Nigeria.
Muslim-haters have had a field day oppressing Muslims for decades until MURIC
came on the scene. We were able to stem the anti-Muslim campaign courtesy of
our Muslim rights advocacy. But that made us the target for elimination.
“They
threatened to assassinate the Director of MURIC about five months ago. A couple
of months ago, they used a fake Islamic organisation to allege that the
Director collected N50 million from the Fulanis for the purpose of
destabilising Yorubaland. Because this did not work, they now want to link us
with ISWAP. It will fail by the grace of Allah.
“We are making wide consultations regarding the way
forward. But in the meantime we demand a public apology from Major Loye Akinlade
Tunde (rtd) for tarnishing the image of our organisation, causing malicious
damage to our reputation and for libellous publication.
“In spite of all these attacks against us, we
remain committed to the liberation of Nigerian Muslims from persecution,
stigmatisation and Islamophobic attacks. What the enemies of peace want is to
get us out of the way by all means, to continue to cause distraction using
dirty methods like the ISWAP angle or to isolate us after smearing our
reputation. We urge Nigerian Muslims to calm down but remain vigilant. As
usual, we will continue to use peaceful and lawful means to resist all attempts
to blackmail and silence us. No shaking, no retreat, no surrender. Aluta
continua, victoria asserta.”
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
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