BOKO HARAM IN OSHUN STATE

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

MUSLIM RIGHTS CONCERN (MURIC)

Motto: Dialogue, Not Violence

No. 11, Iba Expressway, LASU-Isheri Road, Iba Express Bus Stop, Iba, P.O. Box 10211, LASU Post Office, HO 102 101, Ojo, Lagos State.

Tel. 08182119714. E-mail: muslimrightsconcern@yahoo.co.uk       BLOG: muslimrightsmuric.blogspot.com  Website: www.muric.net

24^th May, 2014

PASTOR ATTEMPTS TO START ‘BOKO HARAM’

IN OSUN STATE

A pastor of the Baptist Church, Ikonifin, Osun State, has attempted to launch false Boko Haram in the State. According to reports, Pastor Olatoke, who is also the CAN President of Ola Oluwa Local Government, conspired with three members of his church, Emmanuel Atanda, Peter Oyedepo and Ogunniyi Babatope to launch a false Boko Haram attack on his church with the aim of blaming Muslims for the attack.

They therefore dressed like Muslims, wrapped their heads in turbans and covered their faces to avoid being recognized by members of the church. They stormed the church during the night vigil held on Sunday 18^th May, 2014.

They threw banga which sounded like gunfire thus scaring all the worshippers who thought they were real Boko Haram insurgents.

The worshippers took to their heels, running helter skelter to save their lives. Many of them were injured. The ‘attackers’ then jumped on their getaway motorcycles and sped off into the dark night.

Fortunately the ‘attackers’ were arrested by the youths of the community. The culprits later confessed that they were members of the same church which they came to ‘attack’. They also revealed that it was their pastor who planned the whole thing. When confronted, the pastor said it was just ‘drama’.

MURIC is aware that some people are now trying to bury the case. It is also interesting that none of the newspapers have published the story. Sheikh Daood Imran Molaasan, the President of Jama’at Ta’awunil Muslimeen has called on the state government to deal with the perpetrators.

MURIC hereby alerts the Federal Government, the Senate, the House of Representatives, delegates in the ongoing National Conference, the Inspector General of Police and the Director General of the State Security Services (SSS). They must know that this is exactly how some Christians have been roping Muslims unjustly and labeling us as terrorists. They may try again.

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) is already investigating the matter. MURIC has dispatched a fact-finding team to Osun State.

We appeal to all Muslims to remain calm and law-abiding. We urge you to intensify your prayers for peace to return to Nigeria.

Pray that Allah should expose all those behind the Boko Haram saga in Northern Nigeria. We assure you that we will not allow anybody to sweep a conspiracy of this magnitude under the carpet. Neither will we sleep until the culprits are dealt with.

Professor Ishaq Akintola                                                                                   Abdul Razaq Uthman

           DIRECTOR                                                                            PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER (P.R.O.)

MURIC REPLIES CAN

MUSLIM RIGHTS CONCERN (MURIC)

(Motto: Dialogue, Not Violence)

RESPONSE TO NOSCEF ADVERTORIAL ON THE DEMANDS OF CAN AT THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE

DEMAND AND REJECTION OF ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS:

WHAT IS CAN’S GAMEPLAN?

Our attention has been drawn to the full page advertorial of the Christian Elders Forum of Northern States (NOSCEF) in some newspapers of Sunday, 4th May, 2014. NOSCEF’s piece was a reaction to MURIC’s statement (not advertorial) in some newspapers a week earlier.

MURIC in its own statement had welcomed the demand of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) for the establishment of ecclesiastical courts in Nigeria. We argued that instead of standing in the way of each other, Christians and Muslims should allow each group to be what it wants to be so long as no one is hurt and nobody’s right is infringed upon.

We are not a little surprised, therefore, to find NOSCEF backing out of the demand for ecclesiastical courts for Christians. We wonder what happened between now and then? How can CAN say ‘Yes’ in the morning and NOSCEF say ‘No’ in the evening?

Well, we must admit it is not our cup of tea. What is clear is that Muslims have always been consistent with what they want. Our right is our right and we have never minced words about it.

NOSCEF seeks to confuse Nigerians by accusing MURIC of seeking to segregate our legal system through the demand for Shariah. The Northern Christian body wants all under the so called secular constitution and common law.

What NOSCEF has forgotten is that common law is not so common. Common law can never be common to Muslims because it is a Lugardian contraption and a colonial tool of oppression. Common law is Christian law and that exactly was what informed NOSCEF’s U-turn on the demand for ecclesiastical courts. NOSCEF must have asked itself, “Do we still need another Christian legal system when common law is Christian law?”

NOSCEF cannot deny the fact that common law is British law and British law draws heavily from Christian culture and tradition. Neither can NOSCEF know better than British legal luminaries who declared that British law is essentially Christian law.

Exempli gratia, in the case of Bowman versus Secular Society Limited (1916-17), Lord Summers declared, ”Ours is, and has always been, a Christian State. The English family is built on Christian ideals and if the national religion is not Christian, there is none. English law may well be called Christian law.“

While commenting in the same case, Lord Finlay, the then Lord Chancellor, declared, “There is abundant authority for saying that Christianity is part and parcel of the law of the land”. Sir Mathew Hale (1609 – 1676) was quoted in the Historia Placitorum Coronae (1736) as saying, “Christianity is part of the common law of England”.

Anyone familiar with Sir William Blackstone’s  (1723 – 1780) Commentaries on the Laws of England will never entertain second thoughts on the origin of common law as the incisive work finds common law tied to the umbilical cord of Christianity.

It is also on record that Lloyd Kenyon (1732 – 1802) declared, “The Christian religion is part of the law of the land”. Nearer home, the celebrated Justice Karibi Whyte is known to have declared that the Holy Bible contains the fundamental basis of common law.

As if to remind us that things have not changed in Britain and that just as the above British legal authorities authoritatively declared British law as Christian law in the 17^th, 18^th and 20^th centuries, British Prime Minister David Cameron crowned the apex just a few weeks ago by declaring that Britain is a Christian society.

So who is NOSCEF trying to deceive? The reality is that Nigeria’s common law originated from British law which, essentially, originated from canon law. Common law is therefore Christian law. But both CAN and NOSCEF want to railroad Nigerians into swallowing common law, hook, line and sinker.

It is clear therefore that Christians have their own law but they are stopping the Muslims from having theirs. Do we love our neighbours as we love ourselves? What is interesting again is that the customary courts have taken care of traditional worshippers. Where does this leave the Muslims?

Nigeria needs a tripartite legal system. That does not tantamount to segregation. It is justice in action, justice for all, equal rights without borders and Justice is the Soul of Peace.

How can NOSCEF advocate the use of common law for all in the name of unity? The implication of this is that the Christian body is asking the Nigerian authorities to apply Christian law for both Christians and Muslims. NOSCEF has ‘territorial’ ambitions. NOSCEF is being economical with the truth. Nigerian Muslims reject this neo-colonial gimmick.

It is common knowledge that Nigerians are people with diverse cultures and ethnicities. We are a people of three major religious backgrounds: Christianity, Islam and traditional religion. The constitution must provide in very clear, unambiguous terms a tripartite legal system for justice to be seen to have been done.

The National Conference must therefore do the needful: give the Muslims what the constitution has given the Christians otherwise the whole system remains a monumental fraud.

We call on the National Conference to beware of the antics of NOSCEF and CAN. Their wish is to tie the Muslims down and force an alien legal system down their throats. By the way, what is the purpose of this national conference? Is it not for each group to declare its desire?

CAN and NOSCEF want common law because it is Christian law and they are Christians. MURIC and the Nigerian Muslims reject common law because they are not Christians. They want Shari’ah because they are Muslims. The National Conference should not put square pegs in round holes. In the same vein, the National Conference should watch out for neocolonialists who already have what they want but ask the authorities to reject the wish of others.

We appeal to all men of conscience and all patriotic Nigerians to understand the case of Muslims in Nigeria. Mainstream Nigerian Muslims are a peace-loving and dialogue-promoting, overwhelming majority who prefer, and are using logic and intellectual advocacy to persuade Nigerians to accept the Muslims as Muslims and not to seek to impose an alien identity on us as the Christian colonialists did in the past

Distinguished delegates of the National Conference, the ball is in your court. You have the choice to make or mar Nigeria.

MURIC in its earlier statement extended the olive branch to CAN and NOSCEF. Despite the lack of reciprocity, we still remind these Christian bodies that we can still work together. Let us forget about this rivalry. Let us fight corruption together. Let us fight terrorism like one people. Let us allow peace to reign. Let us live and let live. Let the Muslims be!

Professor Ishaq Akintola,

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC

NO TO EXTENSION OF MILITARY RULE

17^th May, 2014

PRESS RELEASE:

NO TO EXTENSION OF EMERGENCY RULE

President Goodluck Jonathan has sent a request for extension of emergency rule for another six months to the National Assembly. The request as at today is almost a fait accompli with its approval two days ago by the House of Representatives. Its next destination is the Senate.

 

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) wishes to call Senate’s attention to the need to approach the issue with utmost caution. Three states of Nigeria: Adamawa, Borno and Yobe have been under emergency rule for a whole year. Nothing tangible has been achieved within the period. On the contrary, life has become extremely difficult for civilians in the area. Economic activities have dovetailed. Poverty has risen astronomically.    For how long shall we continue to extend emergency rule? Even governors of the zone who had supported emergency rule ab initio are now kicking against it.   

 

The only beneficiaries of emergency rule in the area are those who collect billions of naira for the purchase of military hardware which never surface for use by soldiers at the frontline who need them. War fatigue has taken its toll on our soldiers particularly in the face of poor welfare, Stone Age weapons and an astounding lack of transparency.

 

What emergency rule are we talking about when reliable sources reveal that Nigerian soldiers are not willing to confront Boko Haram fighters? Our soldiers flee at the approach of the insurgents. Civilians who expect protection are shocked when soldiers take to their heels. What magic do we expect another extension to perform in the mindset of Nigerian soldiers on ground? Nay, it will only worsen their condition.

 

How can our president have the temerity to ask for the extension of emergency rule when he could not muster the audacity to visit trouble spots? George Bush visited American troops in Iraq on Thanksgiving Day 2003. He made several other visits thereafter. Obama dared the Taliban by visiting Afghanistan in late March, 2010 and again early in December 2010.

 

In sharp contrast, the Nigerian president proposed a visit to Chibok where more than 250 girls were abducted by insurgents but he chickened out at the last minute. The visit which was to take place yesterday (Friday 16^th May, 2014) was abruptly aborted. Yet the Commander-in-Chief who has failed to ignite the passion for escapade expects our rag-tag soldiers to perform magic under the guise of emergency rule. Life is all about taking risks. It is those who dare to struggle who dare to win.

The argument that the president would have to be driven four hours by road to reach Chibok suffers from poverty of vision, shortage of initiative and lack of imagination. Is there no where to land an helicopter in Chibok town?

Is the girls’ college where the abduction took place a 2 X 2 affair? Couldn’t an helicopter land in the school compound? Couldn’t the Commander-in-Chief’s helicopter be escorted by a couple of jet bombers from the Nigerian Air Force? It is glaring that the presidency has failed to harness resources at its disposal this time around.

MURIC strongly suspects that there is a deliberate attempt to weaken the Nigerian Army thereby prolonging the insurgency in the North. This is designed not only for the purpose of debilitating the region economically but also to disenfranchise the area by keeping emergency rule perpetually in place. It is all about the 2015 general election. This is what MURIC calls political Boko Haram  and it is designed to benefit the ruling party alone.

We therefore appeal to Senate to look critically into its crystal ball and forestall the plan by the ruling party to mortgage the zone under emergency for a pot of porridge. MURIC says ‘No to extension of emergency rule’. Senate should look beyond its nose.

What the zone needs is the presence of a disciplined and better-equipped military, jobs for millions of unemployed youths who have become easy prey for Boko Haram operatives and massive deployment of infrastructure that is capable of transforming the zone to a modern welfare society. But above all, the Commander-in-Chief must lead by example in future.

Professor Ishaq Akintola,

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)

IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO MY MUSLIM BROTHERS

My dear Muslim brother/sister,

As-Salaam Alaykum,

I call on you to be an agent of change in the Nigerian Muslim Ummah in particular and in the world at large. Muslims have become endangered species. We are at the base of the pyramid of poverty and deprivation. We are constantly harassed and intimidated in our own country. Allah-given and fundamental rights of Muslims are denied them.

Yet all these are happening because we are not proactive. We have been docile for too long. We are in the majority but we have failed to harness our resources. How can we change the pendulum to swing to our side?

In an attempt to find an answer to this question, some adopt violent methods to react to discrimination against Muslims. But violence is not the answer. It merely ends up smearing the good image of Islam, the religion of peace.

It is knowledge-based and mature proactiveness that can earn Muslims the much-desired respect for their dignity.  Every Muslim has a stake in this. Every Muslim must play his own role. We must come together under dynamic groups in order to achieve this laudable objective.

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) whose motto is “Dialogue, Not Violence” is one of such groups. I charge you to be part of our Yahoo Group where issues of common interest to Muslims are ironed out by members spread across different parts of the country. Indeed we have members from all parts of the world in the forum. Our debates are robust, incisive and revealing. It is a chance to come together and share ideas, experiences and lots more.

HOW TO JOIN MURIC YAHOO GROUP:

1.    For those who have Yahoo e-mail addresses:

Go to MURIC Group’s site:

 groups.yahoo.com/group/muslimrights

Click on the words ‘+ Join Group’

The screen will immediately take you to Yahoo Sign in page

Enter your Yahoo email address

Enter your password

Click on ‘Sign in’

A visual page will appear and he will be required to type the visual code underneath

Click on ‘send request’ below.

Once this is done you have become a member.

2.    For those using other e-mail addresses, you have two options:

    

(a)Either to send your email address so we can send you an invitation to which you can respond (by clicking on the word ‘join’ and following subsequent instructions contained in the invitation) or

(b)            Get a Yahoo e-mail address and follow the steps in (1) above.

I look forward to seeing you in the group. Allah bless you as you join us.

Sincerely Yours in Islam,

Professor Ishaq Akintola,

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)

MURIC REJECTS ‘CONVERSION’ OF KIDNAPPED GIRLS

13^th May, 2014

PRESS RELEASE:

MURIC REJECTS ‘CONVERSION’ OF KIDNAPPED GIRLS

Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, has released a video showing some of the girls kidnapped at a government secondary school in Chibok, Borno State on 14^th April, 2014. In the video, Shekau announced that the kidnapped girls had been converted to Islam. He also threatened not to release them until some of their members in Nigerian jails are set free.

 

We reject the purported conversion of the kidnapped girls. It is cowardly, shameful, ridiculous and preposterous. It is sacriledge.  We affirm authoritatively that such conversion does not hold water in Islam because a non-Muslim can only be converted on his or her own free will.

 

We have no iota of doubt that the girls ‘converted’ under duress. Such ‘conversion’ is null and void under the Shari’ah. The Glorious Qur’an is very explicit in this regard as it says, “There is no compulsion in religion…” (Laa ikrahun fii ad-diin” (Qur’an 2:256).

 

The so called conversion is therefore baseless, unfounded and of no validity whatsoever. It exists only in the hallucinated imageries in Shekau’s demented mind.”

 

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) urges the Federal Government to dismiss Shekau’s offer of exchange of Boko Haram prisoners for the kidnapped girls.

 

A man who orders the invasion and kidnap of innocent young girls is honour-blind. Shame on Boko Haram! Shekau has no modicum of integrity left in his anatomy. He has no intention of honouring this deal. He is trying to buy time. He is digging in.

 

MURIC calls on all churches and mosques to pray for the downfall of Boko Haram. This renegade group is out to defame and distort the true teachings of Islam. Members of Boko Haram are rebellious subjects and enemies of peace.

 

We charge the Nigerian Army to go back to the drawing board and evolve more potent strategies for crushing this renegade group. To crush Boko Haram is a task that must be done.

 

Professor Ishaq Akintola,

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)

KIDNAP OF GIRLS: BOKO HARAM HAS VIOLATED ISLAMIC RULES OF WARFARE

7^th May, 2014

PRESS RELEASE:

KIDNAP OF GIRLS:

BOKO HARAM HAS VIOLATED ISLAMIC RULES OF WARFARE

The insurgent group, Boko Haram, yesterday claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of about 273 girls of a government secondary school in Chibok, Borno State. The claim was made via a video clip in which the group’s leader, Shekau, threatened to sell off the girls. Another set of 8 girls has also been kidnapped in the same area this week.  

 

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) and indeed the entire mainstream Muslim Ummah of Nigeria commiserate with parents of the abducted girls, the authorities of the affected school, the government and people of Borno State and the good people of Nigeria. We share the pain and the trauma of the past three weeks and pray that the nightmare will end in happiness for the victims and the rest of Nigerians.

 

MURIC hereby clearly, unambiguously and unequivocally declares the action of the renegades as categorically unacceptable. This criminal, inhuman, sadistic, archaic and barbaric act stands in contradistinction to the tenets of Islam regarding the treatment of the girl-child, women in general as well as the conduct of war.  

 

Islam promises the girl-child life, not death; hope, not frustration; liberty, not captivity. It was Islam which forbade the ancient and pernicious policy of burying female children alive (Qur’an 16:58-59; 81:8-9). The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) called men who are kind to women the best among men. He said, “The most perfect Muslims are the best in conduct and the best of you are the best in conduct to women.”

 

 He also said, “Whoever has a daughter and does not insult her but treats her equally with the male children, Allah will give him a place in paradise”. Where then did Boko Haram get its despicable doctrine which dishonours the girl-child?

 

The case of Boko Haram has become an interesting study in religious perversity. Islam teaches peaceful coexistence, Boko Haram insists on killing and maiming innocent people in the name of religion. Prophet Muhammad said, “Do not kill the monks in monasteries, and do not kill those sitting in places of worship” (Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal), Boko Haram kills people inside churches and mosques. Boko Haram has indeed become a social gangarene which must be burned out with hot iron.

 

MURIC charges the leadership of Boko Haram to retrace its steps. Our daughters cannot be held captive even under Shari’ah law talk less of selling them into slavery because our cities are not at war with Boko Haram. It is only the military who are engaging the insurgents.

 

Civilian targets are therefore haram for Boko Haram. It is even most cowardly to focus attacks on soft targets like women and little girls. It beats all rules of chivalry. Real men do not brutalize little girls. This is why the Prophet forbade the killing, hurting or harassment of women, little children and elderly people during wars.

 

We call on Muslims in the conflict areas and those in  neighbouring countries of Chad, Niger and Cameroon to resist any attempt to sell these innocent girls in their territory. Islam does not promote slavery, neither does it condon forceful marriage.  

 

We call on the Federal Government to leave the anti-kidnap protesters alone. Peaceful protest is a legitimate means of expressing dissent. Instead of chasing shadows, the Federal Government should harness its anti-terrorism arsenals and disburse them effectively.

Professor Ishaq Akintola,

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)

2ND NYANYA BOMB BLAST: WE ARE ALL TO BLAME

2^nd May, 2014

PRESS RELEASE:

2^ND NYANYA BOMB BLAST: WE ARE ALL TO BLAME

Another bomb exploded in Nyanya, Abuja yesterday allegedly killing ten people and injuring about a dozen others. The bomb was reportedly triggered off from a white gulf car parked a few meters away from the scene of the first bomb which occurred two weeks ago.

 

We are shocked beyond words not only by the audacity of the perpetrators but also by the failure of our security apparatus. The fact that this second explosion occurred almost at the same spot with the first one accentuates the grave danger facing Nigerians in the hands of terrorists and the seeming helplessness of the security agencies.

 

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) strongly condemns this dastardly act. We are also constrained to conclude that we are all to blame for the deteriorating security situation in the country.

 

The Federal Government (FG) takes the lion share of the blame for monopolizing the security agencies (police, army, etc) without allowing state governments to create complementary outfits contrary to international best practices. The same FG details too many security agents around top government officials leaving too few to protect the jamaheer (poor masses).

 

But because security is a corporate responsibility, the citizenry must share the rest of the blame. The police and other security agencies alone cannot secure lives and properties.

 

Security is a joint enterprise. The citizens must compliment the efforts of the security agencies with readiness to provide information. They must also be on the tip-toes of alertness.

 

MURIC therefore charges every Nigerian citizen to take up his or her own share of the responsibility. Terrorists are not ghosts. Henceforth, unfamiliar faces who park vehicles in our neighbourhoods must be challenged whether they try to leave the vehicle or remain seated therein. We must quickly inform the police if they cannot give satisfactory explanation. The same applies to strangers who attempt to abandon bags and baggages particularly in public places.

 

The security agencies must build confidence in the citizens to ensure their cooperation. They must therefore roll out concrete and verifiable facts to the public instead of figments of imagination and fabricated security abracadabra.

 

On its own part, FG must be more transparent, sensitive and accountable. FG must be willing to delegate some modicum of responsibility for the maintenance of security to the states. It must take pragmatic steps towards accepting states as partners in the crucial task of ensuring security.

 

Posterity will not forgive members of the National Assembly and delegates in the ongoing national conference if they turn deaf ears to the agitation for the creation of state police.

 

Professor Ishaq Akintola,

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)