No More Pretensions, the Nigerian
State is waging a war on Islam
and Muslims.
Gentlemen of the Press, I welcome you
all to this Press
Conference on a very important and
weighty issue on the serious
concerns of Muslims over a Systematic
war on Muslims and Islam by
the Federal Government, controlled by
CAN.
Since the end of Military dictatorship
in 1999, Muslims and other
objective observers have witnessed,
with incredible consternation, the
progressive transformation of the
Nigerian State into a government of
CAN, by CAN and for Christians, in
character, structure and policies.
This ugly development, now
appropriately christened a
“transformation
agenda”, appears to have reached its
zenith, involving practically all
Federal Government Institutions and
resources, with the active
support of all security agencies and the
Armed forces, all pursing in
unison, the objective of collective
punishment, marginalization,
intimidation and demonization of
Muslims and Islam. This unfortunate
development is now openly executed,
with no conscience or
pretensions, for even the blind can see.
This relentless war against
Islam and Muslims for close to 15
years by the Nigerian State and its
agencies of coercion, which was
initially under deceptive guises, is
today crystal clearly targeting the
slaughter of Muslims with impunity,
and to destroy the future and livelihood
of Muslims in every
conceivable way, for the goal of 2015
in the short term and at the
same time, inflict upon Muslims, an
everlasting state of impotence in
the long term. This MUST stop, Now!
And from today, we urge all
Muslims to wake up to this real and
immediate danger so that we can
take appropriate steps to put an end to
it.
I will begin with the latest plan by
CAN and its security agencies,
SSS, DIA, DMI and the Police, to
target and arrest prominent Muslim
clerics, scholars, Imams and other
activists, then employ the
obnoxious SSS tactic of using youths,
under duress or through
inducement and deception, to give false
prepared testimonies against
such targeted Muslims. The most
recent case is the criminal arrest,
detention and humiliation of Dr.
Muhammad Yunus Nazeefi, a well
known and respected critic of the Boko
Haram ideology and tactics,
now being portrayed as a spiritual
leader of the group.
We demand his immediate and
unconditional release from
detention, a public apology,
compensation for his unlawful
incarceration and humiliation, and most
importantly, a public inquiry to
reveal those behind this dastardly act.
We also call on the President to put an
immediate end to the
impunity and criminality of the SSS or
risk the wrath of the people who
will definitely rise up to resist such
gross abuses and injustice.
Injustice as is being perpetrated by the
present Government, can
never bring about peace, but breed
perpetual circles of violence.
Unfortunately, we are aware of a
sinister plan to commence the
wholesale arrest and humiliation of
prominent Muslims, with approval
from the highest level of Govt., to
include Muslim clerics, scholars,
Imams and other Muslim activists.
At this juncture, I must salute the
courageous patience and
perseverance of Nigerian Muslims for
all the acts of provocation,
impunity, brazen injustices, profiling
and stigmatization, over a long
period. No doubt, we have given the
Govt. benefit of doubt for too
long, for noble as the act of patience is,
it has a limit, and that limit we
seem to have reached now. The import
of the statement by the Chief
of Army staff, General Ihejinka in
2011 that the armed forces are
fighting a civil war, not just elements
of the Boko Haram insurgency is
quite clear today, it is a war against
Islam and Muslims.
Muslims are fed up with the
Government’s duplicitous circle of
deception and double standards. Here,
I will give just a few in
controvertible examples, which raise
many questions begging for
answers. (i) Since the early 1980s
when religious crises and the mass
massacre of Muslims commenced in
earnest, (Zangon Kataf I and II,
Kasuwan Magani, Kafanchan, Tafawa
Balewa, Jos, Yelwan
Shendam, Numan, Mambila Plateau,
Kuru Jenta, and most recently,
Zonkwa, Wase and Wukari), all
promises, undertakings and
assurances by the Federal Government
to investigate and sanction
the leaders and perpetrators have not
been met. After each round of
massacre of Muslims, the Federal
Government would come with the
familiar high sounding assurances
which are never meant to be
fulfilled.
(ii) For quite some time, there have
been numerous cases of
Christians involved in terrorist related
acts, but such cases are never
investigated by the Police and SSS,
even in instances where they
were caught red handed in the act. I
will give a few instances in 2010
alone, beginning with Messrs. Moses
Ashaji and Papa, arrested on
Friday, 19th February, 2010 along
Akwanga-Jos Road with huge
stocks of locally manufactured rifles.
Also, Daniel Chayi Gyang, Amos
Akila and Mbono Musa, were arrested
with deadly weapons, including
rocket launchers, grenades and AK47
rifles, intercepted by the SSS in
Maiduguri on 30th July, 2010 on their
way to Plateau State. There was
another case of eleven well armed
terrorists arrested in August 2010,
including the village head of Nasarawa
Village, Chief Danteri Bongwat
of Langtang South, and an illegal
armory located in Kuru, Plateau
State. These cases were widely
reported in the media, but the CAN
SSS never took any action, because
they were not Muslims. Still in
2010, the Punch Newspaper reported
the arrest of Five (5) Pastors
“for operating an Illegal Military
outfit” (a Euphemism for terrorist
activity, since the word is exclusively
reserved for Muslims), in Lagos,
with their photographs published at
page 11 of the Wednesday edition,
10th March, 2010.
The examples are too numerous to cite
here, but the most
recent were two news reports on the
arrest CAN Military operatives by
the police “for operating illegal
security outfit” in Jalingo, Taraba
State.
Those arrested included Reverend
Chaplain Shehu Yakubu, a retired
customs officer Sunday Silas, retired
SSS officer Sulaiman Audu, a
retired ASP Y. Winew, a retired ASP
Isma’ila Makaniki and many
others. This was reported by the Daily
Trust Newspaper of Saturday,
2nd November, 2013 at page 10. In the
same paper, at Page 8, was
another report, “Police nab woman, 2
others over militia training in
Gombe”, in which one Mrs. Deborah
Babayo and two men were
reportedly arrested by the Gombe
Police Command “for conducting
illegal militia training under the
auspices of an illegal organization,
called “The Elite Corps” on the
outskirts of Gombe, on 1st November,
2013. In both cases, which we believe
the Police and SSS will sweep
under the carpet as usual, the concern
of the Police in
the two reports was the “sums of
money involved but unfortunately,
though not surprisingly, they were
silent on the cache of arms
recovered.
Perhaps even more revealing in the
unfolding drama of double
standards and deception by the Federal
Government and its CAN
controlled security agencies are widely
reported cases of Christians,
too numerous to mention, who were
actually caught in the act of
terrorism, which were never
investigated, let alone prosecuted.
There
have been more than twenty of such
cases, but I will cite about half a
dozen as examples, in Gombe, Bauchi,
Bayelsa, Plateau, Lagos,
Benue and Rivers States.
In Gombe State, there was a report on
the arrest of Christian
men that sprayed bullets on the Gombe
Deeper Life Church
worshippers. Igbos were the suspects
arrested who were reportedly
taken to Abuja. Shortly thereafter, two
Christians, Hassan Ojudu and
Sama’ila Yakubu were arrested with a
vehicle loaded with explosive
devices and ammunitions. Curiously,
they too were reportedly taken to
Abuja, and as usual, nothing has been
heard from the SSS
Spokeswoman or in the news, to date.
Still in Gombe State, one
Madam Ruth was caught attempting to
bomb ECWA Church in the
Kalarin area of Kaltungo. But the
security agencies claimed she was
“hypnotized” and was conveniently set
free.
In Bauchi State, one Miss Lydia
Joseph was also caught red
handed trying to set ST. John Catholic
Church in Bauchi on fire, but
she was immediately set free, with the
explanation that she had a
problem with a boyfriend member of
the Church! Shortly after that
incident, eight (8) COCIN Church
members were arrested with
explosive devices while attempting to
bomb the Miya-Barkatai branch
of the Church. By the following
Sunday, they were free to participate in
Church service.
In Plateau State, in March 2012, a
Christian wearing Military
Uniform, later identified as a member
of the COCIN Church, was
lynched while trying to escape after the
bombing of the same Church
headquarters in Jos. A few days later,
on Sunday 25th March, 2012,
the Special Task Force (STF) paraded
one Mr. Alex Danladi, who was
caught wearing army camouflage,
along with one Mr. Dung Bulus, a
well known fabricator of guns, and
some others the authorities said
were students of the University of Jos.
A few weeks later, on 10th
April, 2012 one Mr. Monday Davou
was arrested, caught red handed,
planting a timed improvised explosive
device (IED), at the Makera
weekly market in Riyom Local
Government Area, Plateau State. This
was evidently aimed at committing
mass murder that was to have
been instantly attributed to Boko
Haram, to provide a good excuse to
attack Muslims, demonize Islam and
opportunity to loot Muslim
property and cattle!
In Lagos, the Saturday Sun newspaper
of 10th March, 2012, at
page 10, reported that 11 cartons of
explosives imported from South
Africa, which were carefully packaged
to beat security checks, where
intercepted by the Nigerian Customs
Service at the Murtala
Muhammad International Airport,
Lagos. The huge consignments
were for Miero Marble Granite and
Stones Ltd, in Kaduna State, with
one Mr. Micheal Awara Ernest as the
Company representative to
collect the explosives at the Cargo
terminal. The statement of the
Customs Area commandant at the
Airport, Mr. Charles Eporwei Edike,
which was profoundly insightful on the
intent and probable
consequences of the explosive, fell on
the deaf ears of the SSS. He
said “if those items were released, they
could have been used to
cause mayhem. We are now going to
hand him and the items over to
the Police for further investigation”.
Well, since the handover, neither
the Police nor the Spokeswoman of the
almighty SSS have not said,
or done anything on
the case. It would be most surprising if
he was not set free with his
toxic import, to kill Muslims. In Benue
State, on Sunday, 19th
February, 2013 four (4) persons, were
arrested while trying to
detonate explosives at the ST.
Theresa’s Catholic Parish in Makurdi.
The Leadership newspaper of
Wednesday, 22nd February, 2012, at
page 10, reported the Police PRO, Mr.
Ejike as saying that the four
terrorists arrested were Christians. But
before the honest revelation,
the members of the public had already
jumped to the conclusion that
they were Muslims.
The factual examples are just too
many, but for the purpose of
this Press Conference, I will conclude
with two examples indicative of
the international dimension of the
deception and double standards of
our CAN controlled SSS and the
Police Force. On January 11th 2012,
two Nigerians, Sunday Eze from
Anambra State and one Samuel
Taiwo from Ogun State with three
other Ghanains were arrested in
Ghana, with heavy weaponry, carefully
concealed in a truck which was
to be brought to Nigeria. The question
to ask the Police, SSS and the
Presidency is who were behind the
order? Certainly not NSCIA,
SCSN, JNI, NASFAT, MSS,
NACOMYO, MURIC OR UMMAH.
While
Opposing the bail of the terrorists in
court on Tuesday, March 27th,
2012 the office of the Attorney General
of the Republic of Ghana said
“the arms and ammunitions seized on
transit to Nigeria were to be
used to fuel terrorists activities in
Nigeria”. Which terrorist groups are
they that the Nigerian Government, the
Police and SSS are
protecting? It must surely be the
bigger, better armed, well financed
and protected Government/CAN Boko
Haram.
Finally, on specific factual examples,
was a BBC news report
published by THISDAY Newspaper of
Friday, 13th January, 2012 on
page 6, on a British arms dealer, Gary
Hyde being prosecuted in a
London court for unlawfully arranging
the shipment of about 80,000
guns and 32Million rounds of
ammunition from China to Nigeria in
2007. Obviously, it was not meant for
Muslim terrorists, because if it
was, the BBC, CNN and the Nigerian
Media would have kept harping
on it. As for the Presidency, SSS, the
Police and our Armed Forces,
this event never happened.
It appears a good number of Nigerians
are afflicted by amnesia,
but keen observers would recall that a
few years ago, a systematic
robbery of the armory of the Nigerian
Army in Jaji, the 1st division of
the Nigerian Army Kaduna, Ikeja
cantonment and many other Military
formations was widely reported,
involving Christian serving Officers
and Generals. A Military inquiry was
instituted and many Christian
Officers, serving and retired including
the Late General Azazi, were
indicted, but nothing was done to any
of them. More importantly, were
are the arms? May be they were given
to one Boko Haram or another!
What about the report of the Military
Inquiry?
Gentlemen of the press, there are just
too many questions
begging for answers from the
Presidency, the SSS, the Police and the
Military high Command. The
Presidency is definitely involved in the
cover ups and double standards, for
why would the President, rush to
absolve MENDS from the first terrorist
act involving massive bombs in
Nigeria, on October 1st, 2009 even
before the commencement of any
investigation and attribute it to Muslim
Leaders? Why would the
Commander in Chief, order the
Director General of SSS to publicly, in
Church, grant a pardon to a Christian
terrorist group, OMBATSE, of
Nasarawa State, who slaughtered over
80 mobile policemen and 10
SSS operatives? Let any fair minded
person imagine what would have
happened if it was a group in Kano,
Katsina, or any Muslims were
behind what OMBATSE did! As for
the double standards of the SSS; it
seems to be a part of their training or
culture, to provide excuses and
explanations for any Christian
unfortunate to be caught in a terrorist
activity. The Eggon Christian
tribesman of the Minister of
Information
(and Defence!) who was also caught
red handed with arms at the
Federal Ministry of Information,
readily comes to mind. The SSS
Spokeswoman explained off this
security breach as a non-issue, since
it was not a Muslim that was involved.
Recent Mass Massacre of Muslims
The Sunday Trust Newspaper of 20th
October, 2013 revealed that the
JTF had dumped 3,335 corpse, in
Maiduguri Hospital mortuary, the
toll for only 6 months, January to June,
2013. Incontrovertible
evidence further revealed that an
average of not less than 12 young
Muslims were massacred every day
during the period, at the
Maiduguri Military Barracks alone! In
January, 94 were killed, 61 in
February, 218 in March, 200 in April,
161 in May and 233. This total
figure does not include thousands
killed in their homes, in Yobe,
Bauchi, Gombe and Kano. To the
Nigerian Government and its
security agencies, the blood of a
Muslim is not worth more than a
mosquito.
In 2009, after series of denials by the
Police and SSS of extra
judicial massacre of Muslims in
Maiduguri, ALJAZEERA aired a video
clip that revealed the monstrous evil
committed. In spite of the outcry
and the clear evidence including the
identity of the perpetrators, the
matter has been conveniently swept
under the carpet. The Apo six
murderers who happened to be
Muslims were however promptly
apprehended, dismissed and prosecuted
with unprecedented
swiftness. But the most recent Apo 9
murderers are yet to be
apprehended, why? because the poor
souls were hated Muslims.
Disproportionate Recruitments into all
Govt. Services, especially,
the SSS, Armed Forces and the Police
As a result of the non-challance of
Muslim leaders, especially in
the last 15 years, recruitments into key
parastatals and agencies,
especially the SSS, NIA, the Police,
the Armed Forces and even
paramilitary agencies, have been
systematically skewed to favour
Christians, with massive expulsion and
wholesale retirement of
Muslims. Our Council had cause to
bring this issue to the public
domain and even involved the Supreme
Council For Islamic Affairs
and the JNI, with an advertorial and a
petition on the matter handed to
President Obasanjo in 2005 by the
Late Sultan. Almost 10 years later,
the lopsidedness in the recruitment has
become even more brazen.
The recent recruitment into the SSS
officer corp, the latest of which
graduated from their Training school in
Lagos about a month ago,
showed for example, Kano had 6,
Kebbi and Sokoto had 3 each, while
Rivers State had 38 and Akwa Ibom
had 40. In addition, most of those
from Kaduna, Bauchi, Taraba,
Adamawa, Nasarawa, Kogi, Gombe ,
Ogun, Oyo and Oshun States were
predominantly Christians.
At the Zaria Army depot, where other
ranks of the Army are
trained, over 11,000 were recruited and
trained in the last 3 years, and
Christian constitutes a big majority.
Just last week, about 40 Muslim
trainee recruits at the Zaria Army
Depot were expelled, with no
explanation, a few weeks before the
end of their training. The records
of recruitment into the officer corps of
the Armed Forces at the NDA,
had for over 20 years now been
skewed to favour Christians. The
most recent list of recruitment into the
65th regular course of the NDA
is typical of what has been going on
for years; Kaduna had 3 Muslims
and 11 Christians, Adamawa 4
Muslims, 9 Christians, Taraba 3
Muslims 10 Christians, with Borno
faring a little better
with 7 Muslims and Six Christians.
There have been many cases of
Christians given slots in Jigawa,
Katsina, Zamfara and even Sokoto,
but you will never, find a Muslim
name in Benue, South East and
South South.
This is a very serious issue that must
be remedied, because the
series of religious/ethnic crises are
further compounded by the
disproportionate representation of
Muslims in the SSS, the Police and
the Armed Forces. For example, the
authoritative Human Rights
Watch (HRW) in a damming report on
the last major religious crisis in
Jos, indicted the Mobile Police for
singling out Muslims for massacre.
It cited more than a dozen incidents in
which mainly Muslims were
rounded up and gunned down. In one
incident, 44 Muslims were shot
in firing squad style.
It also listed seven separate incidents
of arbitrary killings in
which 47 Muslims were shot by
Military men. Of Course, the HRW
appeal for a probe of the Mobile Police
was disregarded. Their report
concluded with the recommendation,:-
The HRW reported concluded
that –
“The probe of the Mobile Police
should go beyond its role in the
Jos crisis to unearth its recruitment
policy, numerical strength and the
religious affiliations of its officers and
men”. It added that –
“Unless the roles played by the Mobile
Police and fake (sic CAN)
soldiers are properly investigated and
the finding made public, other
groups are likely to adopt similar
methods in the nearest future”.
Earlier on, the then Police
Commissioner in Kaduna State, Alhaji
Mohammed Shehu, observed after the
2000 major religious crises,
observed that unless the composition
of the Police Force, which then
was 80% Christians in Kaduna State
was re-constituted, there would
be no end to religious crises (page 24
New Nigerian newspaper of
Wednesday, 2nd August 2000).
We therefore urge the Federal
Government, the Nigerian Police,
the Armed Forces and the SSS and
NIA to come clean on these
injustices with satisfactory
explanations and assurance of fair play
and
transparency. Government at all levels,
especially the Federal
Government should note that there can
never be peace without justice
and no people, however complacent,
can accept such excesses,
without reacting. And unless the
Federal Government is determined to
push Nigerian Muslims to that stage,
we demand immediate,
transparent remedial actions.
Fellow Nigerians and gentlemen of the
Press, how many people
would believe that in the 21st Century,
and for almost 10years, 80
Muslim women and girls are still being
held as “booty” (ganima)
dehumanized as sex slaves by
Christians in Plateau State, since the
Yelwan Shendam massacre of
Muslims in 2004. All efforts to get the
appropriate authorities to take
immediate steps to secure their release
and re-union with their families have
fell on deaf ears. Our Council
had held series of meetings with 3
Inspectors General of Police, 3
Directors General of SSS and the NSA
all of whom were given
petitions on the matter. As at 2004,
over 200 such Muslim women and
girls were involved, the Council was
successful in securing the
freedom of about 120, all victims of
forced labour, rapes and emotional
trauma. If this barbaric act had affected
Christians, the Federal
Government, and its security agencies
would have ruthlessly swung
into action with an International Press
awash with the news.
It is evident that CAN and the Federal
Government are poised to
undermine Islam, for at every turn,
every right of Muslims according to
their faith is being opposed with threats
borne out of blind hatred. The
ethical system of banking, universally
embraces, was opposed by
CAN, Nigeria’s membership into the
Islamic Development Bank (IDB)
was opposed for over 20years, until
about Six years ago when the
Obasanjo saw beyond religious bias,
the benefits of joining IDB to the
country. Still, the Governors of Oshun
and Adamawa states are facing
opposition in their plans to secure
interest free long term
developmental loans from the IDB, for
no reasons other than irrational
prejudice against anything Islamic.
Christians, on the other hand, are
not only free to practice every aspect of
their faith, but can even pick
and incorporate aspects of the Islamic
faith convenient for them with
the support of the Government; the
annual trips on government
sponsorship to Egypt, Israel and Rome
in the name of pilgrimage, is
an example.
In conclusion, while we call on
Muslims to meticulously stick to
the teachings of Islam on Peace,
Justice, Compassion and
truthfulness, we all know that
everything human has a limit. The fact
is
the patience of Muslims who have
been systematically brutalized,
stigmatized, marginalized and
pauperized , been severely tested and
overstretched. We therefore call on all
people of conscience to stand
up for the truth against such glaring
injustices, otherwise we all know it
is a fact of life that every act has a
consequence, good or bad. We
therefore want the Federal Government
to know that it is no longer
acceptable for the rights of Muslims to
be abridged or annulled, while
Christians in Nigeria have an
unfettered right to do as they wish.
____________________ _________
_____
DR. Ibrahim Datti Ahmad, OFR Nafiu
Baba-Ahmad, mni
President Secretary General