BAGA MASSACRE: IT IS RELIGIOUS CLEANSING

24th April, 2013 PRESS RELEASE: BAGA MASSACRE: IT IS RELIGIOUS CLEANSING!   Over 185 Muslim civilians were butchered on Monday, 22nd April, 2013 at Baga, Borno State while more than 2000 houses were either burnt or leveled to the ground in an alleged clash between the military and Boko Haram militants.         The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) is petrified by this horrendous and barbaric killing of unarmed civilians. We reject the military's excuse that Boko Haram fighters used civilians as human shields. This excuse further exposes the unprofessionalism and high-handedness of Nigeria's soldiers. It is sheer cock and bull story. Residents who survived the invasion claim that it was unprovoked. We affirm that those involved in this massacre have ignored the rules of engagement.   MURIC strongly suspects that those behind the animalistic and brutal behavior were trigger-happy and determined to kill as many Muslims as possible before the amnesty being planned by the Federal Government (FG) comes into effect. The fact that most of the victims were women and children lends credence to this suspicion. It is also a calculated attempt to provoke Boko Haram into another orgy of violence thereby forestalling the proposed amnesty programme.   We accuse the Nigerian military of excessive use of force against a civilian and Muslim population. It is simply religious cleansing with a tinge of ethnic genocide.   The fact that a massacre of this magnitude is perpetrated in the same zone despite the fact that extra-judicial killings ignited the Boko Haram imbroglio ab initio proves that the Nigerian military has not learnt its lesson. By out-Heroding Herod at Baga, Nigerian soldiers are simply winning more sympathizers and volunteers for the Boko Haram insurgents.     We stand by our hypothesis that terrorism is mere smoke rising from flames stoked by injustice, oppression and persecution. A good fire-fighter will direct his hose towards the flame and not at the smoke. Justice is the soul of peace. Nobody can deny one and enjoy the other. Those who order the massacre of Muslim populations are encouraging terrorism.   MURIC therefore calls for an urgent commission of inquiry into the Baga saga. The probe allegedly ordered into the case by the FG will only scratch the surface. Only a commission of inquiry can dig deep enough.   Beyond the local scene, we call on the international community to pay attention to this crime against humanity. The world today has become a global village and the repercussions of a humanitarian disaster in Nigeria will definitely ricochet across the world. Those who kill women and children in cold blood must face the full wrath of the law. We urge the United Nations to urgently conduct an international inquiry into this massacre. International warrants of arrest must be issued against those involved in this inhumanity of man to man. They must be arraigned at the International Court of Justice.   We urge the international civil society to listen to the cries of the oppressed people of Baga. Specifically, we invite Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International to conduct independent interviews with survivors of this ordeal and act accordingly.   Finally, MURIC jogs the conscience of the Nigerian civil society, the Campaign for Democracy (CD), the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO), Women Arise, etc. We assert the right of Muslims to enjoy fundamental human rights. We warn that continuous conspiratorial silence in the face of frequent violation of the Allah-given and fundamental rights of Muslim populations places a moral burden on the conscience of civil society and mortally challenges its credibility.   Professor Is-haq Akintola, Director, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), 234-818-211-9714 234-803-346-4974 Professor Is-haq Akintola,  Lagos State University, P.O. Box 10211, LASU Post Office, HO 102 101, Ojo, Lagos, Nigeria. Tel. 234-803-346-4974        234-818-211-9714 Website: www.ishaqakintola.com Blog: drishaqakintola.blogspot.com Twitter:  ishaqakintola Facebook: facebook.com/ishaqakintola Twitter: ishaqakintola   I remain oppressed untill the hungry are fed, the naked clothed, the sick healed and the homeless sheltered