MUSLIM RIGHTS
CONCERN (MURIC)
هيئة حقوق المسلمين
Motto: Dialogue,
Not Violence
2nd April, 2026
PRESS RELEASE:
MURIC NORTHERN WING GREETS NORTHERN CHRISTIANS ON END OF
LENT, CALLS FOR SINCERITY
— Urges the regional Christian association to stop writing
fictitious petitions to
the US, tame its wild members, be patriotic, uphold integrity, and
promote inter-faith harmony.
The Northern wing of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has
greeted Northern Christians on the occasion of the end of the lent fasting
period marking Good Friday.
MURIC called on the Forum of Northern Christians (FNC) also known
as the Northern Christian Association (NCA) to prioritise its internal cohesion
rather than making some insincere and political remarks.
The call was made in response to a recent statement made by Rev
Joseph John Hayab, the Chairman of the Northern Christians, to the Muslim Ummah
during the just concluded Eid-al Fitr celebration in which he called for mutual
respect, understanding and love among the Nigerian Muslims and Christians.
"MURIC takes this call with a pinch of salt and even
goes further to express its reservations and surprise behind Rev. Hayab's
motive for making a statement that is for all intent and purposes
hypocritical."
The observation was made in a statement issued on Thursday, 2nd
April, 2026 by the Kano State Chairman of MURIC, Malam Hassan Sani Indabawa,
who also doubles as Coordinator, MURIC Northern Wing.
The full statement reads:
"A Christian group known as Forum of Northern Christians
(FNC) or Northern Christians Association (NCA) had on 20th March,
2026 released a supposedly goodwill message marking the successful completion
of Ramadan fast by Nigerian Muslims. The Northern Christians further advised
Nigerian Muslims to 'continue to foster mutual respect, understanding, and love
among all faiths and communities in our beloved nation.' (https://leadership.ng/northern-christians-greet-muslims-on-eid-el-fitr-urge-unity/).
MURIC, however, views this remark as incredulous, quixotic and
hypocritical.
"We are quick to express our skepticism on the motive of Rev.
Joseph Hayab while the antics of some Christian leadership who were engaged in
an incendiary campaign against the government of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, by inviting foreign forces to invade the country ostensibly on the
false narrative that there was an ongoing 'Christian genocide', is still fresh
in our memory.
"It is perplexing to note that while Northern
Christians urge unity in the day, they write petitions to the US in the night.
Rev. Hayab in particular played a significant role in inciting the
American narrative of Christian genocide in Nigeria. He was physically present
at the failed joint briefing of both Muslim and Christian leaders with the
American delegation on Christian genocide.
"Instead of allowing a joint briefing, the Christian
team which was led by Hayab, elected to meet the Americans separately. Only God
knows what they told the Americans behind our back. Rev. Hayab cannot deny
being present at that event. MURIC's Executive Director was also there. If
Northern Christians were so keen on meeting the Americans separately, how can
they start talking about unity and love today?
"Most significant is the leading role played by the largely
northern Christians in the hate campaign against Nigerian Muslims. What has the
northern Christians got to say on the ignoble role played by their leadership,
before imploring the Muslims for 'understanding, unity and love'?
"Without the leaders, the ordinary Northern Muslims and
Christians share mutual love, respect and understanding as demonstrated by the
spirit of neighbourliness, tolerance and accommodation across the North in some
communities where the Christians form the minority. Their rights are respected,
they live in peace and are regarded as bona fide citizens with unfettered
access to fundamental rights and privileges.
"Without any equivocation, we strongly assert without any fear
of contradiction, the relative peace and harmony being enjoyed by the minority
Christians living in Muslim-majority states like Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Gombe,
Adamawa, Borno, Yobe, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Kogi,
Nassarawa and Northern Kaduna. One has to juxtapose this set up with the well
documented horrendous ethnic cleansing and religious persecution being meted
out to minority Muslims in some places like Plateau, Benue and some Southern
States.
"This was coming after series of reckless incitements and hate
campaigns made by one Reverend Ezekiel Bwede Dachomo, an extremist Christian
clergy from Plateau State, notorious for calling for violence and extreme hate
against Muslims and Islam. In his unrestrained bigotry, Rev Dachomo had issued
a 'command' for the Plateau State youths to rise up to what only he
and God knows. The reverend is among the foremost northern Christian leaders
that passionately called for USA President, Donald Trump, to come and 'save'
Nigerian Christians. What he says about Islam’s most sacred symbols are
unprintable and quite sacrilegious that no liberal person can ever utter such
intense, profane blasphemy. In one of his public plea for President Trump, he
said, the Nigerian Christians 'saw Trump as God!'
"There are strong and wide accusations that
Christian leaders in Nigeria are often quick to condemn acts of violence
against Christians but remain silent or ignore similar acts perpetrated by
Christians against Muslims, contradicting the hypocritical call for unity, love
and mutual respect.
"Rev Dachomo is not alone in his unpatriotic call for foreign
intervention and formenting mischief, he is one of the several northern
Christian leaders that alternate their call for understanding, love and mutual
respect with discreet employment of mischief to demonise and vilify Nigerian
Muslims. Therefore, the least that can be expected from a faith-based group,
like the Northern Christians Association (NCA), especially its leadership, is
to see a physical demonstration of integrity by highlighting accountability,
establishing abilities through deeds rather than empty rhetoric.
"The gang-up against the Muslims by the Nigerian Christian
groups brings to the fore the issue of trust, respect and interfaith
understanding between the two religious groups. While Nigerian Muslims are in
consensus with the Federal government of Nigeria by understanding the spiraling
insecurity challenges the country is facing as multi-faceted and complex,
affecting all sections of the country. Unfortunately, Northern Christians,
especially, are quick to mischievously tag it as religiously inspired and
motivated.
"Some northern Christian leaders like Bishop Mathew Hassan
Kuka of Sokoto Diocese, Rt Rev Oliver Dashe Daoeme, Bishop of Maiduguri
Diocese, Bishop Wilfred Chikpa Anagbe of Makurdi Diocese, Rev Fr Remigius
Iyhula and Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, INEC Chairman had at various times
written to the US, UN, EU and other world bodies falsely claiming genocide
against Nigerian Christians while knowing fully well the blatant untruth of
their allegations.
"The act of demarketing one's country —
tarnishing its reputation — combined with inviting foreign military action is
generally classified under serious national security crimes, most commonly as
treason, treasonable felony, or sedition.
"We therefore find it genuinely baffling and incredible how
with all these internal contradictions the northern Christian group failed to
address these far more serious issues of double standard by its leadership but chose
to engage in demagoguery.
"As equal stakeholders in the Nigerian project, we should all
emphatically acknowledge the fact that God has destined for us to live as
brothers and neighbours in spite of our religious, tribal and social
differences. We have lived as Muslims and Christians for millennia and would
continue to live for another millennia and therefore we must all genuinely work
towards living in peace and mutual respect without engaging in mischief while
refraining from making unpatriotic calls for the compromise of Nigeria’s
sovereignty.
"The body of Christ must distance itself from the
treacherous act of Judas Iscariot on Spy Wednesday. Only thus can the Nigerian
interfaith community, particularly NIREC, act in unison.
"In ending our admonition, we strongly call on the Forum of
Northern Christians (FNC) to, as a matter of utmost priority, put its house in
order, tame its wild members, be patriotic, demonstrate integrity, eschew
mischief, uphold sincerity and back words with action by ensuring behaviour
match words. Simply put, just walk your talk, please."
Malam Hassan Sani Indabawa,
Chairman,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC),
Kano State Chapter
Coordinator, MURIC Northern Wing
