FREE TRAIN: FG, NRC UNFAIR TO MUSLIMS

 

5th June, 2025

PRESS RELEASE:
FREE TRAIN: FG, NRC UNFAIR TO MUSLIMS

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has accused both the Federal Government (FG) and the Nigerian Railway Corporation of being unfair to Muslims particularly regarding the way and manner free train rides are declared during religious festivals.

MURIC interrogated the gross disparity and astounding imbalance in the manner free train rides are declared for Christmas whereas Salah attracts no such dividend of democracy. 

This was contained in a statement issued on Thursday, 5th June, 2025 by the Executive Director of MURIC, Professor Ishaq Akintola. 

"A strange scenario is currently playing out in the Nigerian socio-cultural landscape. Whereas the Federal Government (FG) offered free train rides during Christmas (https://www.thecable.ng/just-in-fg-announces-two-weeks-free-train-trips-from-december-20/l), it has maintained a pregnant silence on whether the same handout will be offered during this Salah.

Interestingly enough, FG also extended the period of free train rides beyond two weeks in the early days of January 2025. (https://nairametrics.com/2024/01/04/fg-extends-free-commuter-train-rides-to-jan-7-2024/).

However, the chairman of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has announced an extension of train services during the Salah period (https://theeagleonline.com.ng/sallah-nrc-adds-extra-trip-to-lagos-ibadan-services/). Yes, extension of train services for which commuters have to pay, not free train ride, is what Nigerian Muslims deserve.

This extension cannot even scratch the surface. Neither is it comparable to the over-pampering luxury of the Christmas period.

As part of its corporate social responsibility to Nigerians, MURIC has a duty to interrogate the performance of government in this area. We note that there is gross disparity and astounding imbalance in the manner free train rides are declared for Christmas whereas Salah attracts no dividends of democracy.

We are therefore constrained to ask, 'Is free train meant for Christians alone? Who is in control of this government? Are Muslims really being carried along? Are we on a wild goose chase?

Just as we learnt in George Orwell's Animal Farm that 'All animals are equal but some are more equal than others. Four legs good, two legs better', FG appears to be drumming it into the ears of Nigerian Muslims that equal rights in Nigeria is an illusion, a myth, a mirage. It appears that all religions are equal in Nigeria, but Christianity is more equal than any other faith. 

We have been politically marginalized, economically shortchanged and socially ostracized. We have a Muslim president in a Muslim-Muslim ticket yet we cannot enjoy the same social infrastructural facility that Christians are given on a platter of gold. We are constrained to ask who is in control of this government? If a Muslim is in control, why are Muslims being treated like lepers?

We cannot even enjoy simple privileges and common dividends of democracy. Ordinary free train ride which FG begged Christians to take is not even being offered to Muslims. We have been treated like third class citizens in our own country. We have been marooned. We have been orphaned. We have been oppressed.

If this is an oversight, we demand an apology from FG. If it is deliberate and official arrogance and an exhibition of executive impunity, we will assume that government is merely flexing its muscles. 

We are not unaware of the extensive powers of government which it can decide to wield as it craves. But you can drag a Muslim to the mosque, at dawn, by noon or after sunset to join the congregational Salat but his special prayer point after Salat can only be determined by him. 

 

The lopsidedness of the Nigerian system is becoming more and more glaring by the day making the need for an overhauling of the old asymmetrical colonial heritage more compelling, albeit through rational and constitutional means. We believe that two wrongs cannot make a right. 

We therefore demand a total and categorical overhauling of all religious matters like our weekend system, seasonal holidays, etc that were fixed and skewed pro-Christian by the colonial master. We should have reviewed all these immediately after independence in 1960. This neoimperialist system cannot sustain itself talk less of perpetuating an enduring, just and balanced ecosystem. All neocolonial vestiges must go.

MURIC congratulates Nigerian Muslims on the occasion of the 2025 'Id al-Kabir. We charge all followers of the Prophet (SAW) to follow his painstaking patience and exemplary endurance. Despite the fact that neither FG nor NRC has been fair to Muslims, we will hold our peace since we have no iota of doubt that Almighty Allah is forever constant, ever watchful.

#FreeTrain

#ChristmasFreeTrain

#WhitherSalahFreeTrain

#OverhaulNeocolonialHeritage

 

Professor Ishaq Akintola, 

Founder/Executive Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)

 

MURIC TO OGUDU POLICE: DON'T AID LANDGRABBER

 

4^th June, 2025

PRESS RELEASE:
MURIC TO OGUDU POLICE: DON'T AID LANDGRABBER

 

The Imam and other officials of the Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP) were recently arrested by the police at a construction site in Ogudu, Lagos State. The police acted on a landgrabber's claim that he owned the land.

 

Although they have all been released after the intervention of the AIG, Area 2 Command, they were asked to report back on Thursday, 5th June, 2025, a day before Salah.

 

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) condemns this brazen act of impunity. The landgrabber virtually took control of the police operation, behaving like a slave master in a sugarcane plantation in the Carribeans. No civilian has the right to dictate what it wants to the police.

 

We demand full respect for Allah-given fundamental human rights of the Imam and members of the AMP. The place has been used by them for years as a Muslim praying ground and they have all necessary documents for the land on which they are building an Islamic centre. Their arrest was unlawful, illegal, illegitimate and unconstitutional.

 

We advise the police in Ogudu to postpone any meeting on the matter until after the Salah because it affects a Muslim group, not even an individual Muslim and this is Salah period.

 

This police action is capable of being interpreted as provocation by the members as well as the Muslim Community of Nigeria as a whole. It may also be seen as a deliberate attempt to cause discomfort for Muslims at this sacred period. We therefore advise the police to be tactical about the whole brouhaha.

 

AMP is a household name among Muslims and whatever affects them affects all Muslims in the country. It is very insensitive for the police to arrest Muslim leaders during a Muslim festival, particularly without committing any crime. It is equally most unwise.

 

We appreciate the professional touch manifested by the AIG, Area 2 Command in effecting the release of the Muslim leaders from police custody.

 

However, we plead for the postponement of the meeting slated for tomorrow, Thursday, 5th June, 2025 until after the Salah because some of the leaders also have to be with their families for the Salah. 

 

#NigeriaPolice

#AssociationOfMuslimProfessionals

 

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

YOUR ROAD REPAIRS AT THIS TIME IS UNPROFESSIONAL, SADISTIC: MURIC TELLS CONSTRUCTION COMPANY

 

3^rd June, 2025

PRESS RELEASE:

YOUR ROAD REPAIRS AT THIS TIME IS UNPROFESSIONAL, SADISTIC: MURIC TELLS CONSTRUCTION COMPANY

Thousands of travellers on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway are currently stranded towards the Ibadan end of the axis. This is as a result of road repair works being carried out by a road construction company on that road.

 

According to the Executive Director of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), Professor Ishaq Akintola, the traffic logjam is so terrible that there is virtually no movement as at 6 pm today, Tuesday, 3rd June, 2025. 

 

It is most likely that hundreds of commuters will spend the night on the dark road thereby exposing them to attacks by criminals. 

 

MURIC strongly condemns the decision to carry out repairs on that part of the road at this busy period when Muslims and other road users are trooping in and out of Lagos and other cities for the Salah holiday. It is unprofessional, insensitive and sadistic.

 

We demand immediate halt to the repairs, urgent relief for travellers and a probe of the circumstances that led to the ugly situation. We also urge the Oyo State Police command to take proactive measures towards ensuring safety of travellers.

#NoToSalahRoadRepairs

#TravellersFirst

#RoadUsersFirst

 

Professor Ishaq Akintola, 

Founder/Executive Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC).

 

SALAH STATEMENT: STOP VIOLATING RIGHTS OF ANIMALS, RAMS – MURIC

 

3^rd June, 2025

SALAH STATEMENT:

STOP VIOLATING RIGHTS OF ANIMALS, RAMS – MURIC

 

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has accused some Muslims in the South West of violating the rights of animals, particularly Salah rams. The group alleged that some of the rams bought for sacrifice are often made to fight one another for ordinary fun. The group advised those who are doing this to put a halt to the habit which it described as wicked, sinful and disgusting. 

This was disclosed in a statement released on Tuesday, 3^rd June, 2025 by the Executive Director of the organization, Professor Ishaq Akintola. 

The statement added:

"Our attention has been drawn to an ugly practice which is becoming common among some Muslims in the South West. Rams meant for Salah day sacrifices are sometimes led out by young Muslims (often without the knowledge of the adult owners) to fight with other rams in open spaces. 

"MURIC strongly frowns at this practice. It is   wicked, sinful and disgusting. Muslims are actually expected to show kindness to animals even when such animals are meant for sacrifice. 

"While we must add that the owners of such rams are usually unaware of what their young ones are doing with their Salah rams, yet we need to know that a lot of disadvantages come with this evil practice. It inculcates violence in the youth and sometimes causes financial loss and emotional trauma to the owners. 

"A video clip sent to us by a member is quite didactic in this regard. The clip showed two rams brought to an open space for the purpose of engaging each other in a fight. It was an uneven match as one ram was extremely huge while the other looked very skinny. A single knock from the big ram caused instant death of the small one. 

"However, we were obliged to narrow down the offending zone to the South West of the country after a brief assessment conducted among the state chairmen of our organization. It was discovered that the practice is virtually nonexistent in other parts of Nigeria except Yorubaland. 

"For instance, the chairman of MURIC in Rivers State, Muhammed Ogbonda Emenike, denied the existence of such a practice in the South South. Barrister Ibrahim Chukwuma Obiahu, our chairman in Ebonyi, ruled it out categorically in the South East. 

"Our Abuja FCT chairman, Ustadh Yunus Salaudeen, insisted that the system is outrightly alien in the North Central. Expectedly, the chairman of MURIC in Sokoto State, Dr. Barrister Muhammad Mansur denied ever hearing or seeing anything like it in the whole North. 

"The above report makes the practice of ram-fighting during Salah period an exclusively South Western affair. But is it Islamic? Is it part of Shari'ah? The answer is capital NO and the reverse is what Islam teaches. For example, Qur'an 21:107 asserts that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was sent as a mercy to all the worlds, not only to homo sapiens but also to animals, fishes, amphibians, invertebrates, etc. 

"Muslims are expected to treat animals with care and compassion because the Prophet was also sent as a mercy unto the animal kingdom. Such kindness is rewarded by Allah. For instance, a woman of easy virtue was forgiven for using her socks to fetch water from a well for an extremely thirsty cat while another was reserved for jahannam (hell fire) for keeping a blind cat indoors until it died of hunger (Hadith).

"Even animals have right to life in Islam. They should not be killed for ordinary fun or treated wickedly. It therefore goes without saying that the issue of rights in Islam goes beyond the rights of human beings. Islam recognizes the rights of animals. 

"Being Allah's creatures, they enjoy certain rights as well and they should not be unduly disturbed. Of course this is without prejudice to the fact that they were, ab initio, created to carry out certain assignments for mankind.

“Such divine assignments, for instance, include that of horses which are for riding by human beings while camels and donkeys are for carrying loads for men and goats serve as food for them just as explained in Qur'an 6:142, ‘And of the cattle (He produceth) some for burdens, some for food. Eat of that which Allah hath bestowed upon you’.

"The Qur’an also says, ‘He has created the cattle for you, in them there is warmth (their wool for cloths) and numerous benefits, and of them you eat (Qur'an 16:5-8) while it adds in 45:13, ‘He has subjected to you all that is in the heavens and the earth, all being from Him. Verily there are Signs in this for those who reflect’.

 

"But man must not transgress while enjoying all these benefits in animals. There is no gainsaying the fact, therefore, that engaging Salah rams for fights is a violation of Allah-given fundamental animal rights. As stated above, they all have their purposes for existing. They should not be abused. There is animal abuse just as there is child abuse.

"Muslims are expected to respect these rights. They are to sharpen their knives when slaughtering Salah ram so that a single slash will cut the ram's throat. This will ensure that the ram does not suffer before it dies. 

"They are to keep the knives away from where the rams can see them before being killed. One ear of the ram can also be used to cover the eye facing up. The ram is also expected to be still and calm before skinning it.

“Salah rams and other animals should be conveyed with dignity. They should not be carried in any way that can constitute harm to them. Those who are in the habit of carrying goats and chicken with the animals’ head held downward should take note of this.

“Will any of you love to be held with your heads down and carried over long distances? Wouldn’t you feel dizzy? Islam teaches all these because it is a religion of peace, mercy and kindness.  These are the ethics of ram handling and slaughtering in Islam. 

"We call on the few Muslims in the South West who still engage rams in fun fights to stop such habit with immediate effect. It is important for them to know that cruelty to animals is against the law.

“Although the Nigerian Constitution does not explicitly address animal rights and cruelty against animals, the law still addresses wicked acts like making animals fight, kicking or flogging domestic animals. The punishment ranges from fines to imprisonments.

“MURIC charges the National Assembly to set the necessary machineries in motion for the criminalisation of cruelty to animals in general, particularly domestic animals like cats, dogs, horses, cows and donkeys. We advise Muslims in the region who buy rams for sacrifice to take necessary measures to prevent the animals from being abused by their children, wards and domestic aides.

“We appeal to the police, particularly in the South West, to protect the rights of domestic animals like Salah rams, chicken, goats, etc. Muslims who make rams fight themselves should be arrested and charged for cruelty to animals. We warn that any society that encourages wickedness towards animals can never succeed in eliminating crime and criminality within itself. Violence inspires violence and cruelty ignites bestiality.”

#SalahRams

#LikeHumanRightsLikeAnimalRights

 

Professor Ishaq Akintola, 

Founder/Executive Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC).