•Afenifere, Ozekhome, Akintoye, OPC knock FG •ACF, CNG back proscription order
AN outbreak of public anger greeted the decision of the Federal Government to proscribe the Shi’ites’ organisation, under the aegis of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), through a Federal High Court which ordered the outlawing of the group and declared its activities as “acts of terrorism and illegality.”
Justice Nkeonye Maha of the Abuja Federal High Court, on Friday, in a ruling on an ex parte application filed before the court by the Federal Government, described the group as a terror organisation and restrained people from taking part in its activities henceforth.
The decision did not go down well with the pan-Yoruba sociopolitical group, Afenifere; constitutional lawyer, Mike Ozekhome; the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), renowned historian, Professor Banji Akintoye and others who not only condemned the order, but also described it as discriminatory and unconstitutional.
However, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and the Coalition of Northern Groups have advised the Shi’ites to obey the proscription order and stop their violent protests.
Constitutional lawyer, Mike Ozekhome (SAN), in a statement on Saturday, flayed the Federal Government’s step, calling it illegal and querying the government for failing to approach the issue of killer-herdsmen in the same manner.
“What group could be more terrorist than the herdsmen and their known anchor, the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN), that held Nigeria by the jugular for years, killing, maiming, burning, raping and turning Nigeria into a crimson field of bloodbath?
“Until the government bans and outlaws them, it is certainly not serious. They [Shi’ites] are demanding the release of their leader still kept in detention in spite of several court orders.
“The Shi’ite group is a religious group, like President Muhammadu Buhari’s Sunni group. It is not an association that could be banned. Section 10 of the 1999 Constitution makes Nigeria a secular state.
“You can’t ban religion, a people’s belief. There is also freedom of thought, conscience and religion in Section 38, while sections 40 and 41 allow for freedom of movement and association.
“The constitution is ruthlessly being shredded by an intolerant and overbearing civilian dictatorship,” Ozekhome said.
Speaking through its spokesperson, Mr Yinka Odumakin, Afenifere expressed concern that even the killer-herdsmen which the United Nations declared as the fourth deadliest terrorist group globally, had not been pronounced a terror group by the Federal Government.
Odumakin said this was despite the fact that in the last one year, about 30,000 Nigerians had been killed with majority of the deaths allegedly linked to the killer-herdsmen.
“We are not aware of any court record where any herdsman is on trial for the killings across the country. So, what is the basis of declaring Shiite a terrorist group?
“You may say you don’t like their views, but they are free to hold their views. They are free to hold their religious views,” Odumakin said.
Also speaking, a historian of international repute, Professor Akintoye, said the move was part of “the crookedness and injustices that pervade the country, adding that the Yoruba, as products of a body of principled people who respect human rights “cannot keep quiet in this matter.”
“Talking about the Shiite group, this is a movement of people who believe in a particular denomination of Islam. Their belief is somewhat different from the beliefs of the majority Muslims of the North. The majority of the people in the North are Sunnis.
“These people are Shi’ites. We have Muslims of Sunnis and Shi’ites across the world. They want to be free to practise their religion. In what way have they become in Nigeria a terrorist group? How can they be a terrorist group?
“What is causing trouble between them and the state is the fact that their leader is in prison. The court order that he be released, the executive arm of government refuses to release him and they are threatening that their leader be released.
“In what way have they done anything wrong? In what way are they subverting the country? In what way are they killing anybody or threatening the fabric of the nation? How can they be treated as terrorist group?” he asked rhetorically.
OPC, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Yinka Oguntimehin, described the order as a ploy to give a dog a bad name in order to hang it, adding that the move would fuel further violent protest that would heat up the polity.
The group explained that though the prolonged protests embarked upon by the Shi’ite group had resulted in the killings of innocent Nigerians, it was not enough to declare it as a terrorist group, when the killings by the Boko Haram and the killer herdsmen were still staring Nigerians in the face.
“If the court had declared Shi’ites as a terrorist group, what will happen to the Miyetti Allah, which has been declaring war on the citizens and killing Nigerian at will?” Oguntimehim asked.
According to him, the Islamic movement took to protests after it was obvious that the Federal Government had failed to honour court orders directing the release of its leader.
Members of the Shi’ites’ movement have been protesting the detention of their leader, Sheik Ibrahim el-Zakyzaky, who has been held since December 2015, following a clash between soldiers in the convoy of the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, and the Shi’ites in Zaria, Kaduna State.
The protests turned bloody with loss of lives, including that of a Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr Usman Umar and members of the movement.
But the ACF and CNG advised members of the el-Zakzaky’s sect to seek legal redress if they are not happy with the court ruling.
In separate reactions to the court order and made available to the Sunday Tribune on Saturday, the spokesman for the ACF, Anthony Sani, said the court must have credible evidence in support of the decision to label IMN a terror group.
“And since ACF is not privy to the facts which informed the judgment of the court, the forum cannot proffer an informed view on the judgment. Besides since we are in a democratic rule of law, due process is the governing action.
‘And if the IMN is not satisfied with the court judgment, the movement is at liberty to appeal the judgment instead of street protests,” the ACF said.
The spokesman for CNG, Abdulazeez Suleiman, advised the Shi’ites to obey the court order, saying ‘When a court of law gives a verdict on an issue, it goes beyond individual opinion. Court decisions are meant to be obeyed.
‘Only a court of superior jurisdiction can overturn such judicial pronouncement. The only problem is that the government of the day is grossly deficient when it comes to observance of the rule of law.
“If the Federal Government had respected the decision of an earlier court that admitted el-Zakzaky to bail, we wouldn’t be where we are today.
“A lot will now depend on how the government will handle the aftermath of the court verdict. Crisis management unfortunately happens to be another area where the willingness and ability of this government have been insufficient.
“We can only hope that the government manages the situation carefully and properly. The North has already had more than its unfair share of crises.
“With the Boko Haram still unfinished and the current wave of violence in most parts of the North, it would be quite unhealthy to have an escalation of the Shi’ite issue.
“The North is already under some kind of siege. I think government must apply more tact and diplomacy which unfortunately it also appears to lack. Stakeholders in the North must begin to talk sincerely.
“There has to be a genuine regional effort to talk to the authorities. Unfortunately too, the government has been seen as one that doesn’t listen, especially on matters that potentially affect the North. We can only wait, hope and pray.”
FG should exercise caution—Raji
Another Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr Ahmed Raji, however, called for caution on the side of the Federal Government, advising it to look for a more holistic approach towards addressing the Shi’ites challenge and other social problems.
Raji while speaking with Sunday Tribune, on Saturday, said the matter calls for great caution, noting that the proscription of the group might tarnish the image of the country before the international community, labeling it as “a colony of terrorists.”