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Tag: MURIC

  • It is the turn of Christians to produce the next president of Nigeria in 2023- CAN

    It is the turn of Christians to produce the next president of Nigeria in 2023- CAN

    Youth Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, has said it is the turn of Christians to produce the next president of Nigeria in 2023.

     

    The National Chairman of CAN’s Youth Wing, Belusochukwu Enwere, who spoke in Owerri, on Saturday, lambasted MURIC over comments by the Chairman of Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, Bauchi State chapter, Idrees Gambo, against members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, vying for elective position in 2023.

     

    MURIC, in a statement by the Bauchi Chairman, warned that any political party that picks any member of the RCCG would exit the Aso Rock.

     

    Enwere pointed out that MURIC’s statement was an insult to Christians and an abuse of the freedom of the people.

     

    He said, MURIC’s statement shows the low level of the said group and how blind they are in the 21st century.

     

    ”For MURIC to say they are challenging RCCG for having the effrontery to launch a political and good governance wing is an insult to our fathers and the entire Christians in Nigeria, especially the young people.

     

    “MURIC calling another faith-based group that will queue behind any candidate from RCCG a traitor is an abuse of office and their freedom of association as stipulated in the Nigerian constitution, and their warning to Islamic organizations and Muslim communities against supporting RCCG is indirectly telling them not to support a Christian candidate in 2023.

     

    “It is the turn of Christians to produce the next president of the country in 2023. We call on them to join hands with us to preach for peace, oneness and help make Nigeria a better place where both Christians and Muslims will be seen as one and have equal rights in all ramifications.”

  • MURIC warns VP Osinbajo over 2023 presidential ambition

    MURIC warns VP Osinbajo over 2023 presidential ambition

    The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), an Islamic rights advocacy group, has warned Vice President Yemi Osinbajo over his alleged presidential ambition.

    Reacting, MURIC informed Osinbajo, who is an ordained pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), that it was the turn of Muslims in the South-West to rule Nigeria and not Christians.

    MURIC’s director, Ishaq Akintola, said in a statement:

    “Three Yoruba Christians (Obasanjo, Shonekan and Osinbajo himself) have occupied the presidency whereas no single Yoruba Muslim has been either military head of state, president or vice president of Nigeria.

    “This factor has given Yoruba Christians both political and economic edges and subjected Yoruba Muslims to political marginalisation, social segregation and gross economic disadvantage leading to abject penury among Muslims in the sub-region.

    “Muslims in the South-West will no longer remain onlookers in matters affecting our welfare and our collective destiny. Any Yoruba Christian or Muslim candidate seeking office will have to consult the Muslim community. Nobody will be allowed to take Muslims for a ride and get elected on a platter of gold.

    “All other things being equal, we would not have worried at all and we would not have brought the religious factor to the fore in Nigeria’s march towards 2023. But the brazen effrontery and undisguised persecution of Yoruba Muslims coupled with the criminal silence from those that matter among Christian leaders, civil society and Yoruba socio-cultural groups have made our stand necessary.

    “Our stand is informed by an urgent need to liberate Yoruba Muslims from the shackles of religious persecution.”

  • Insecurity: MURIC urges governors to form formidable security network

    Insecurity: MURIC urges governors to form formidable security network

    The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has urged Nigerian governors to form a formidable security network to curb incessant security challenges bedevilling the country.

    The Director of MURIC, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, gave the advice at the 2022 World Hijab Day Public Lecture, organized by the Coalition of Muslim Women of Nigeria, held at the National Mosque, on Sunday in Abuja.

    Akintola said that the responsibility of securing the country doesn’t depend on the Federal Government alone, adding that every state governor and Local Government council Chairmen have a shared responsibility.

    He also advised State governors to ensure the judicious utilisation of their monthly security votes and provide support to security agencies in their various states.

    He noted that the monthly security votes being claimed by most governors are meant to be dedicated to the provision of securing infrastructure not to be shared or diverted.

    “Security votes are meant to support security agencies to discharge their responsibilities effectively.

    “It is very imperative for the 36 state governors to form or create a formidable security network to support security agencies to reduce insecurity to the barest minimum.

    Commenting on World Hijab Day, Akintola said hijab is a symbol of love, adding that whoever discriminates against a single woman who use the hijab, discriminates against the entire nation.

    He said female students who wear hijab in schools need to be given their freedom to use it because it is a mere head cover that does no harm to anyone.

    According to him, section 38, subsection 1 and 2 of the 1999 Constitution guarantees all forms of religion.

    “Therefore, hijab should be allowed in schools. There should be no hindrance to the use of hijab.”

    Akintola said that school uniforms should be redesigned in such a way that it reflects the diverse cultures in the country.

  • Those condemning brutal flogging of madrasa students encourage their children to go for BBNaija — MURIC

    Those condemning brutal flogging of madrasa students encourage their children to go for BBNaija — MURIC

    The Director and Founder of the Muslim Rights Concern, Professor Ishaq Akintola, on Monday advised Nigerians not to jump to conclusions over the viral video of some madrasa students being heartlessly flogged in Kwara State.

    Although he noted that the penalty meted out to the students was ‘too harsh’, Akinsola said that those condemning the brutal flogging encourage their children to participate in the Big Brother Naija show.

    Akintola aired his views in a statement released on MURIC‘s website where he advised the public to allow the state government to investigate the matter.

    The statement read in part, “While we regard the punishment meted out to the students as too harsh, we maintain that the action of the school authorities should not be judged in isolation. The fact that the parents requested the school to discipline their children must not be ignored.

    “MURIC is also in possession of another video in which the students confessed that they engaged in shameful and unIslamic actions, namely; visiting a club, drinking alcohol, bathing themselves with alcohol, etc. These are horrible acts in which ordinary Muslims must not be involved.

    “Arabic schools are the repository of morality and the vault of uprightness. They are the conscience of the Ummah. The offence committed by those students becomes more unacceptable when the actors are students of an Arabic school who are expected to be the epitome of morality and religiosity.”

    He continued “The abyss of moral decadence into which the Nigerian society has fallen is responsible for most of the woes facing us in this country today. Nigerians now indulge their children. Family values and norms have been thrown to the winds. Parents allow their children to dictate to them. Instead of parents condemning waywardness in their children and punishing them for it, they now condone and collaborate.”

    Akintola further applauded the parents of the flogged students for instructing the school authorities to punish them.

    The Islamic cleric further stated that people condemning the act allow their children to participate in ‘BBNaija’s shameful sex in public’.

    He said, “This is not London where a five-year-old child can call the police to arrest his mum for spanking him and all London police units will come racing to the house, blaring siren. This is not New York where a mother must seek permission from her three-year-old baby before the latter’s nappy can be changed. This is Nigeria, the heartbeat of Africa.

    “We commend the parents of those children who instructed the school authorities to punish their children. Posterity will count them among Nigeria’s puritans and disciplinarians. Those who are condemning the parents and the teachers today are those who will gladly encourage their own children and wards to participate in BBNaija’s shameful sex in public.”

  • BBNaija exhibition of licentiousness, FG should ban it like Twitter –MURIC

    BBNaija exhibition of licentiousness, FG should ban it like Twitter –MURIC

    Islamic human rights organisation, Muslim Rights Concern, has urged the Federal Government of Nigeria to ban television reality show, Big Brother Naija, just as the government banned microblogging site Twitter.

    MURIC Director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, made this known in a chat with The PUNCH

    He said, “We (MURIC) issued statements on it in the past two years. BBNaija is an abomination. The problem we have in this country is that people don’t learn lessons from past mistakes. We tend to idolize idleness and immorality. We pick thugs as heroes and ritualists as our models.

    “Our youths today have missed the road; what they are interested in is not what can make the country great. What do we get to gain from open vulgarity, open nudity, the spread of shamelessness?

    “BBNaija is an exhibition of licentiousness. It is a pity. There used to be a time in this country when the military and the police would compel badly dressed, indecently dressed women and even men to go back home and dressed properly.

    “But now, we are encouraging it so badly that we allow it to be displayed openly on television. The parents are not at home, the children are watching BBNaija, it is an invitation to chaos.”

    He also urged Pastors and Imams to speak to their followers, adding that the Qur’an and the Bible are against what is being demonstrated openly in the Big Brother Naija house.

    “Now, we are crying over insecurity, immorality, indecency that we are the ones who invited it. We all should come together – Muslim clerics, Christian clergy, we should come together and demonstrate openly against BBNaija. Neither the Qur’an nor the Bible encourages it. We should not keep silent,” he stated.

  • MURIC faults recruitment in paramilitary organisations

    MURIC faults recruitment in paramilitary organisations

    The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has faulted the recent recruitment by paramilitary organisations in the country, saying it lacked federal character.

    Prof. Ishaq Akintola, MURIC Director, said this in a statement on Friday in Lagos.

    “The list of successful candidates in the 2019/2021 Replacement and Recruitment Supplementary exercise of the Civil Defence Corps, Correctional Service (NCS), Fire and Immigration Services Board (CDIPB) is being circulated in the media.

    “The lopsided nature of the recruitment list speaks volume of official corruption in the system capable of denying Nigeria the services of best hands in country.

    “Out of 411 names of successful candidates that appeared on the list, only five were in the Sokoto State column.

    “As if that is not enough, a closer look at the names spring another surprise,” he said.

    Akintola added: “None of the names in Sokoto column appears to have come from the state by origin, the names are Abdurrazaq Adinoyi, Y, Mercy Chukwukeru, Nwauzor Peace, Ezema Emeka and Umar Tijani.

    “It is just natural that this incident will raise public curiosity particularly when some are making an issue out of the federal character principle and leveraging on it as evidence in support of their agitations.

    “But here we have a case that looks very much like relegation by substitution. There is no iota of doubt that indigenes of Sokoto may have been short-changed in this arrangement.

    “Why was there no single Sokoto indigene among the five by virtue of origin of the names.”

    He frowned at the infraction and demanded that the board provide explanations for the glaring anomaly without delay, to avoid breeding bad blood.

    Akintola said that it was not impossible that the list was fake.

    “If that was so, the board must quickly disown it and make the authentic list public.

  • Don’t succumb to cheap blackmail- MURIC tells Pantami

    Don’t succumb to cheap blackmail- MURIC tells Pantami

    The Muslim Rights Concern has urged the Minister of Communications and Digital Planning, Dr. Isa Pantami, to disregard calls for his resignation.

    MURIC made the call on Monday in a statement issued by its director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola.

    The organization alleged that internet fraudsters and kidnappers were behind the online movement against the minister.

    Pantami has been under fire lately over remarks he allegedly made several years ago in support of Al-Qaeda – an extremist group founded by the late Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. Bin Laden was killed on May 2, 2011, by the US Navy SEALs inside a private residential compound in Pakistan.

    Pantami also made remarks in support of Taliban, a Sunni Islamist movement and military organization in Afghanistan currently waging jihad within the country.

    Part of the statement read, “It is a baseless call and it should be ignored. After all, the US itself has denied it. Pantami has been enjoying unhindered multiple entries to the US for a very long time. Even Facebook, the US-based social media giant had Pantami’s picture on Facebook’s digital board for several hours as a mark of honor and respect during one of his numerous visits to that country.

    “The campaign of calumny is being pushed by forces against the Federal Government’s NIN policy, Boko Haram terrorists, bandits, criminals in general and political IDPs (Internally Displaced Politicians). No one who has the love of Nigeria at heart will support such a malicious and frivolous allegation.

    “It is a well-known fact that NIN is designed to expose the true identity of criminals like Yahoo Yahoo boys, bandits and kidnappers who use the internet and telephone to extort money from foreigners and families of kidnapped victims. They live a life of Mr. Jekyll and Hyde : respected gentlemen in the day but dangerous criminals at night and on lonely alleys.

    “They have become jittery ever since the NIN policy was introduced by Pantami’s Ministry of Communications and Digital Policy. They are among those who stand to benefit from Pantami’s resignation. As for the political IDPs, their motive is to ensure that no project initiated by the current administration succeeds.

    “The implications of Pantami’s resignation at this crucial stage are too gloomy to contemplate. It is a national security issue. The NIN scheme, our hope for dealing a technical blow on terrorism, insurgency, kidnapping and all sorts of criminality in the country will suffer suffocating palpitations. There will be a break in monitoring. It is better for us to allow the man who started it to finish it. If any problem arises after we have changed hands in the middle of its implementation, the new boss will easily shift the blame. It will then be a double tragedy. Let the beginner be the finisher. #beginnermustbefinisher

    “In the interest of our great country, Nigeria, we, therefore, charge Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami to ignore calls for his resignation. An agitation for resignation which is not based on sincerity and truth must be resisted by patriots. This campaign for the minister’s resignation is in bad taste. It is pregnant with ulterior motives. Pantami must not surrender. He must not succumb to cheap blackmail. A captain does not abandon ship in stormy waters. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.

    “On the issue of statements credited to Pantami in his younger days, we wonder how detractors would give preference to pronouncements made by a teenager and those made in the days of students’ unionism to those made after maturity and clairvoyance. It is sheer mischief to seek to use that against him.”

     

  • CAN nursing bad intention towards Muslims over hijab – Muric

    CAN nursing bad intention towards Muslims over hijab – Muric

    The Muslim Rights Concern has accused the Christian Association of Nigeria of nursing bad intention towards Muslims over the hijab saga.

    The Muslim rights advocacy group was reacting to CAN’s latest statement in which it said Muslim female soldiers were free to wear hijab on military uniform if that would deflect bullets.

    MURIC’s allegation came through a statement on Monday by its Director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola.

    It said: “CAN has come again. It never wishes its neighbour well. It is never Christ-like. Statements from CAN are, more often than not, ungodly and diabolical. Imagine CAN supporting the use of hijab by female Muslim soldiers ‘if it would deflect bullets’. That shows bad intention. Why the reference to bullets except for death wish for female Muslim soldiers? The only Muslim CAN loves is the dead Muslim. The only Muslim CAN will accommodate is the ‘liberal’, ignorant, half-baked and lilly-livered Muslim who has no mind of his own.

    “CAN is beating about the bush. The question is, does CAN support the use of hijab by female Muslim soldiers or not? Nobody is talking about bullets here. Every soldier knows the implications of joining the army. Bullets are working tools for soldiers. They are very familiar with it. So who is CAN trying to scare?

    “This is a poor outing for CAN. We expect a robust and intellectual interface in which CAN will expatiate reasons for objecting to the use of hijab by female military soldiers. But what do we get instead? CAN is asking if hijab will deflect bullets for those who wear it? That is pedestrian, infantile and jejune. This shows CAN could not come up with any good excuse against the use of hijab by female Muslim soldiers who wish to do so once it is approved.

    “The old song of ‘no Muslim can wear hijab in our school’ does not apply here. The Nigerian Army belongs to all Nigerians, Christians and Muslims. It is the people’s army. Let it reflect the variety of the people’s culture. Army uniform should not be synonymous with Christian uniform. Nigeria will not run a Christian army or a Muslim army.

    “We must ask CAN in turn : does the army uniform itself deflect bullets? If it doesn’t, why do soldiers still wear it? If our soldiers still wear their uniform despite the fact that the latter has no capacity to protect them from bullets, there is no reason under the sun to stop female Muslim soldiers from using hijab simply because the latter cannot protect them from bullets. We assure CAN that female Muslim soldiers who so desire will embrace the hijab without fear of flying bullets even if CAN is the one pulling the trigger.

    “CAN’s reference to only Afghanistan as a country where hijab is used by female soldiers is mischievous. CAN’s intention is to mislead Nigerians into believing that Afghanistan is the only country in the world where female Muslim soldiers use hijab. But this is far from being true. CAN is being economical with the truth. The examples below will expose CAN’s deception.

    “Female Muslim soldiers and police are now found in Britain, Ireland, Scotland, US, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Trinidad and Tobago, New Zealand, Australia, etc. In November 2018, a High Court judge in Trinidad ruled that Muslim women police officers are to be allowed to wear their hijabs while on duty. So what is Nigeria waiting for if countries that are more than 80% Christians allow Muslim women soldiers and police to use hijab? Even the population of Muslims in South Africa is just 1.9% and hijab has already been approved there also.

    “The United States Army approved hijab in 2017 following a memorandum issued by the Secretary of the US Army in Washington on 3rd January 2017 under the subject-matter Army Directive 2017-03 (Policy for Brigade-Level Approval of Certain Requests for Religious Accommodation).

    “It is not in MURIC’s character to make lousy, unverifiable claims. The links below confirm our claims:

    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43758999

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/09/british-police-force-says-it-may-allow-female-officers-to-wear-f/

    Check Out the New Uniform for Female Muslim Police Officers in the UK

    https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2008754/canadas-mounties-allow-women-officers-wear-hijab

  • MURIC Lied: 8th Senate Aided, Not Hindered President Buhari’s Fight Against Insecurity – Saraki’s aide

    MURIC Lied: 8th Senate Aided, Not Hindered President Buhari’s Fight Against Insecurity – Saraki’s aide

    By Oluwole Onemola

    The unenlightened propaganda piece disguised as a ‘press statement,’ which was published on Thursday, April 8th, by one Prof. Ishaq Akintola, under the one-man operation group known as MURIC, is factually and constitutionally incorrect.

    This is because Prof. Ishaq Akintola’s statement intentionally attempts to re-write history by falsely suggesting that the Saraki-led 8th Senate “rejected the President’s request for $1billion for the purchase of arms.” However, the truth is that the 8th Senate never rejected any fund request for security but only insisted that the due process provided by the Constitution of the Federal Republic should be adhered to even by the Executive branch.

    This is why, in order to enlighten the public about the facts, and once again put it on record for posterity’s sake, it is important to reiterate the following points:

    1. On Wednesday, the 25th of April 2018, the then-President of the Senate, Sen. Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, read a letter from President Muhammadu Buhari, which stated that he had granted ‘anticipatory approval’ for the release of $496,374,470. These funds were said to have been paid directly to the Treasury of the United States (U.S.) government.

    2. However, in line with the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which is the overarching legal framework on which our republic is founded, the powers of appropriation are specifically and only conferred on the National Assembly in Sections 80 to 84. Additionally, nowhere in our Constitution is the principle of ‘anticipatory approval’ provided for. This means, that Mr. President did not follow the proper procedure during this Constitutionally-flawed and thoroughly unprecedented ‘anticipatory approval.’ Still, the National Assembly went ahead to approve the money that the executive has started disbursing without approval. Thus, $1billion was approved by the 8th National Assembly.

    3. We all need to remember that at this time, based on allegations of human rights violations by the Military, there was a U.S. Government ban on the sale of offensive equipment to Nigeria in compliance with the Leahy’s Law. However, it was only after the U.S. Congressional Delegation met with the Nigerian National Assembly delegation in Nigeria on Monday, August 28th, 2017, that reassurances were made by the Nigerian Senate President on behalf of the National Assembly — that the Nigerian National Assembly delegation promised that it would look into the allegations of human rights violations, and work to prevent any future recurrence.

    4. It was at this time that the U.S. Congressional delegation, which was led by Senator Chris Coons and Ambassador Symington agreed to make the lifting of the U.S ban on the sale of military hardware to Nigeria one of their priorities. It was after this meeting that the U.S. Congress recommended the sale of the Tucano Jets to Nigeria to President Trump.

    5. Furthermore, it is important to note that in order to ensure that the Nigerian Armed Forces were properly equipped, the 8th Nigerian Senate invited the Service Chiefs on several occasions to the plenary to discuss funding for their operations, and to ensure that they were well-equipped to handle the necessary security challenges. Notable occurrences of such meetings include:

    – On February 3rd, 2016 — when the leadership of the Senate and chairmen of committees relating to security agencies held a meeting with heads of the military;
    – On the 8th and 12th of February — when the Senate held a special security summit attended by the Service Chiefs, the NSA, and Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo and other key stakeholders in the national security architecture and the international community to discuss the security situation in the country;
    – On the 23rd of May 2018, when the Senate asked the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Service Chiefs to present it with its funding requirements — giving our armed forces an almost ‘blank cheque.’ This Security Summit came up with a 21-point recommendations which were subsequently forwarded to the Presidency for implementation.

    6. Finally, the public, especially Prof. Ishaq Akintola of MURIC, should be well aware that the 8th Senate has a clear-cut track record of working to tackle issues related to insecurity head-on. When we quantify the number of times the Senate focused on insecurity in numbers, we have the following:

    – The 8th Senate considered over 101 security-related motions/point of orders in 4-years;
    – The 8th Senate referred 57 security-related matters to its relevant committees;
    – The 8th Senate decided 42 security-related matters on the Senate Plenary floor;
    – The 8th Senate had 38 security-sector interventions in the form of Bills; and
    – It also held 14 public/investigative hearings on security-related issues over its 4-year tenure.

    7. On this note, the public is hereby advised to disregard MURIC’s utterly biased and totally factually devoid statement. This is because: Men can lie. Women can lie. But dates, facts, and numbers don’t.

    Signed:

    Oluwole Onemola
    Media Office of Sen. (Dr.) Abubakar Bukola Saraki (CON), Immediate Past President of the 8th Senate

  • MURIC opens up on who to blame for insecurity in Nigeria

    MURIC opens up on who to blame for insecurity in Nigeria

    The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), says Nigerians should blame anarchists and bad losers among politicians for the current wave of insecurity in Nigeria.

    Prof. Ishaq Akintola, Director, MURIC disclosed this in a statement in Lagos on Thursday.

    “It is unfortunate that many Nigerians are not prepared to say the truth concerning who is actually responsible for the current spate of killings, kidnappings, banditry and insurgency.

    ”Some Nigerians know exactly who to blame but fear will not allow them to speak up. However, MURIC has a duty to say it as it is no matter whose ox is gored.

    “Certain conscienceless elements are manipulating information by spreading fake news in order to incite Nigerians against the Federal Government.

    “Bad losers among the politicians are also hell bent on ensuring that the present administration fails in all aspects of governance,” he said.

    He added that there were also anarchists whose main objective was to sabotage security facilities, debilitate the security agencies and seize their weapons to unleash terror on innocent Nigerians.

    “The real active sabotage of government’s efforts at solving the security challenge was seen during the last #ENDsars protests.

    “The release of prisoners, the burning of police stations and the carting away of police guns were all symptomatic of a deliberate attempt to render the security apparatus impotent as well as a determination to unleash anarchy.

    “Nonetheless, the recent terrorist attack on Imo State Police command headquarters speaks volumes regarding the determination of anarchists to ensure that we continue to have security challenge.

    “The simultaneous attack on Owerri prison during which about 1,844 prisoners were released further confirms the diabolical objectives of the anarchists,” he said.

    Akintola who said that the implication of the attacks in Owerri were far-reaching, explained that those who attacked the police headquarters had neutralised the nerve-centre of security in the state.

    He added that those who also released prisoners had turned back the hands of the security clock by several months, if not years.

    “The arrest, trial and conviction of those prisoners was as a result of strenuous efforts and investigations.

    “It is only enemies of the society who can send dangerous criminals who had been incarcerated back to the society without allowing them to serve their jail terms, learn their lessons and repent.

    “How then can we, in good conscience, blame federal government or Buhari for the rising wave of insecurity when we are the same people destroying security facilities and setting criminals free.

    “The panacea lies in the good citizens of this country coming together to expose enemies of peace. Nobody should think that another leader has the magic hand,” he said.