Date: 9th July, 2014
Our attention has been drawn to the case of a Muslim cleric, Ustadh Abdul Ganiy Jum’ah and his wife Shakirah, who were abducted from their home at Ijoko, near Sango in Ado-Odo Ota Local Government area of Ogun State at about 3.00am last Saturday. Their abductors, who were suspected to be military personnel, though not in uniform, were said to have come to their house in three vehicles. Ustadh Jum’ah is a cleric who, rather than adding to the massive unemployment in the country, established a Madrasah (Islamic school) where youth, women and working class adults learn Arabic and Islamic studies.
But for a reason not disclosed, he and his wife were whisked away to an unknown destination at that wee hour of the night and nothing has since been heard of them. This is a new dimension to the ongoing insecurity trend in the land. We recall that a similar incident occurred sometime in May last year when a popular TV Islamic presenter in Lagos, Abdur-Razak Aremu Gawat was abducted in his private car and whisked away to an unknown destination. Till date, his whereabouts remain unknown.
If the case of Gawat was dubious as it was then painted how do we classify this case of the Jum’ah family abducted from their home in the month of Ramadan? While we have no objection to maintenance of security by security officials we believe that any such illegal abduction ought to have taken the form of legal arrest with proper documentation that can allow relatives and lawyers to trace the whereabouts of the arrested couple. The idea of illegal official abduction of citizens is not only unknown to any civilized law it is also draconian in nature. And at best, such an act can only be described as jungle justice with impunity.
We are unaware that the Jum‘ah couple ever resisted any arrest by the police or refused to respond to invitation by security personnel before the crude brigandage. Why night abduction? This method of maintaining security by the official security agents is one of the major causes of insecurity in Nigeria today.
It can be recalled that the immediate cause of the Boko Haram insurgency was the killing of the leader of that Islamic sect, Muhammad Yusuf, in cold blood right inside the police cell without charge or any trial. The consequence of that singular act of illegality is what the entire country is bearing today as a bitter brunt.
While we are fervently praying for an end to the Boko Haram insurgency under any guise we do not envisage an extension of a similar insecurity trend in the Southwest of the country and we hope that the security personnel will not create one through illegal abduction or serial killing. Meanwhile, we advise the government of Ogun State to immediately wade into the matter and ensure that due process is followed in this case. Religion is like an hornet’s nest which no lover of peace should stir up. If anything criminal is found against the abducted couple let justice take its course through the court of law and not through jungle justice. Another insurgency in the Southwest will not augur well for Nigeria.
EVIL THINKERS
We are equally alarmed by a reported story credited to a group of a so-called Muslim professionals calling on the Sultan of Sokoto to initiate direct dialogue with the Boko Haram insurgents. Such evil thinking could have emanated from (non-Muslim) evil thinkers to cause untold mischief in the country in order to achieve a long term planned clandestine agenda.
From that clever by half satanic statement, it is evident that the dragon dancing furiously on the surface of water has its drummer beneath the water. That is another case of conspicuous hand of Esau and voice of Jacob. Unlike others, Nigerian Muslims have communication mechanism through which suggestions and advice are passed to their leaders. Passing information through the pages of newspaper as being claimed by the evil thinkers is surely not our character. Let those who are desperately pursuing the collapse of Nigeria think twice. The consequences of such evil machination will neither pay or spare anybody. To be forewarned is to be forearmed.
Prof. DOS Noibi,
The Executive Secretary, Muslim Ummah of Southwest Nigeria (MUSWEN)
