TERROR THREAT: CHIDI CALLS FOR NEW ZEALAND TREATMENT FOR NIGERIAN MUSLIMS

18^th March, 2019

PRESS RELEASE:

TERROR THREAT: CHIDI CALLS FOR NEW ZEALAND TREATMENT FOR NIGERIAN MUSLIMS

A Nigerian Christian who goes by the name Comrade Chidi has called for the New Zealand treatment for Nigerian Muslims. Chidi made this call in a tweet sent on Saturday, 16^th March, 2019. His tweet was sent at exactly 5.15 pm on his twitter handle @legitchidi under the name Comrade Chidi.

Commenting on Chidi’s tweet, an Islamic human rights organization, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has called for the immediate arrest, detention and prosecution of Chidi for making undisguised terror threat against his fellow Nigerians. MURIC’s comments were contained in a press statement issued on Monday, 18^th March, 2019.

The statement added, “This is an open and direct terror threat against Nigerian Muslims. It is a call for chaos. Chidi’s call must be seen beyond just a call. This kind of person will go for mass killing of Muslims if he has access to any automatic weapon. Unfortunately that will not prove a challenge to him because already there is a proliferation of dangerous weapons around the country particularly now that we have just concluded the 2019 general elections”.   

The Director of MURIC, Professor Ishaq Akintola, who signed the statement, continued, “This man is not joking. He is dead serious. His exact words in the tweet show how serious he is. His words were, ‘Let them shift to Abuja Central Mosque abeg…we need them there’.

“A smart lawyer may want to trivialize that statement made by Chidi in his tweet. He may want to tell us that the pronoun ‘them’ in the tweet can be anybody. But Chidi’s reference to ‘them’ can be clearly deciphered by going backward to an earlier tweet by Dr. Joe Abah @DrJoeAbah.

“The latter had tweeted, ‘Why would anybody just go into a mosque where people are praying and kill them? Why? We must condemn all forms of extremism: religious, racial, ideological or political’. #NewZealandMosqueAttacks.

“This was the tweet to which Chidi responded. The fact that Dr. Joe Abah ended his tweet with #NewZealandMosqueAttacks makes Chidi’s target very clear. There is no iota of doubt, therefore, about who Chidi’s pronoun ‘them’ is referring to. That ‘them’ is clearly meant for the terrorists who killed 49 innocent Muslims who were praying inside mosques in New Zealand the previous day (Friday, 15^th March, 2019). The terrorists also injured about 21 other Muslims.

“We charge the Nigerian security agencies to go after Comrade Chidi. He must be arrested and detained before he can carry out his planned mass murder. He should also be publicly prosecuted in order to serve as a deterrent to other criminally minded individuals like him.

MURIC also demanded tight security around mosques in view of the New Zealand incident. Akintola said, “The safety of Muslims who attend mosques is attracting greater attention in security circles in civilized environments.  Muslims have become endangered species around the globe and Nigerian security agencies should not be caught napping. Nowadays in America, uniformed and fully armed policemen stand by as Muslims offer Jumu’ah prayers in their mosques. Nothing stops the Nigerian police from doing the same.

“We therefore request for the visible presence of armed security personnel in every mosque around the country particularly during Jumu‘ah prayer on Fridays when mosques are filled to capacity.

“We make a similar request for our Christian neighbours. Armed policemen should be visible near churches around the country every Sunday during worship hours. MURIC’s interest lies in the safety of all, Christians and Muslims. Every Nigerian has the right to belong to the religion of his or her desire and no one has the right to kill worshippers.  

“On a final note, we call on Nigerians to realise that there are criminal elements and extremists in all religions. This is the reality we all must face. Each group must condemn the extremists in its midst and make them accountable before they turn peace-loving and law-abiding Nigerians against themselves in a war of attrition.

It is therefore high time we heeded the advice of the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, that both Christians and Muslims should unite to fight the evil ones in their midst”.

Professor Ishaq Akintola,

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)