Tag Archives: Apostle Suleiman

DSS did no wrong inviting me for questioning – Apostle Suleman

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The controversial cleric who asked his supporters to kill Fulani herdsmen to defend themselves has said the security agency, SSS, did no wrong in inviting him.

Johnson Suleman, the President, Omega Fire Ministries Worldwide, said that his invitation by the SSS, also called DSS, was in order.

Mr. Suleman said this while briefing journalists in Abuja on Monday.

“I presume the right thing was done. They have been in touch with me to come and that is why I am in Abuja, so that I can see them,” he said.

He said that his recent statement was based on information from a reliable source that herdsmen were coming to attack him.

He said that he stood by his statement on self defence.

“I was talking in my personal capacity on information from a reliable source that certain people in the capacity of herdsmen were coming to attack me and I told the people around me that if it happens they should defend themselves.

Mr. Suleman had told his supporters at a religious crusade recently to defend themselves if they were attacked by herdsmen.

However, as at the time of filing this report, Mr. Suleman had yet to report to the DSS office.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that there was heavy presence of police officers and the DSS personnel with Armoured Personnel Carrier ( APC) around the services’ headquarters.

Mr. Suleman’s statement and subsequent invitation has generated mixed reactions.

Some like the Christian Association of Nigeria and Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State have pledged support for him, saying he only called for self defence, while others like the Muslim Rights Concern have asked that he be investigated for inciting violence.

 

Source: Premium Times

DSS Vs Apostle Suleiman: Let The Truth Be Told – By Inibehe Effiong

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It is politically correct and simplistic for anyone to demand the arrest and prosecution of Apostle Johnson Suleiman, the outspoken and controversial Founder and General Overseer of the Omega Fire Ministries over his recent belligerent utterances against those said by the Nigerian government to be aliens from Mali, Niger, Chad and other neighboring countries; the so-called Fulani herdsmen.

That is what is expected of any die-hard supporter of President Muhammadu Buhari who may be motivated either by ethnic, religious or political sentiments and considerations. It perfectly fits into the narrative of those seeking to divert attention from the unabated mass murder of Nigerian citizens by ‘’foreigners’’ in Southern Kaduna and other parts of the country and the troubling silence of the Nigerian state.

For me, it is Nigeria first. Loyalty to our nation and its Constitution should always take precedence over political, ethnic or religious affiliations. Are we not ashamed as Nigerian citizens that the State Security Service (SSS) is taking action against Apostle Suleiman, a citizen, for making inciting statements in response to the Southern Kaduna massacre when no single person is on record as having been arrested and prosecuted for the killing of defenseless Nigerians, whether Christians or Muslims, in Kaduna State by ‘’foreigners’’?.

I refuse to join the mob calling for the head of Apostle Suleiman, not because I am a Christian or a Southerner but because of my spirit, soul and body presents, detests and rejects hypocrisy, injustice and oppression in every form. If Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State could shamelessly use taxpayers money to settle or compensate alleged murderers who he also claimed are foreigners in his unserious attempt to dissuade them from their murderous and satanic proclivity, what justification does anyone have to demand the prosecution of Apostle Suleiman for basically calling for self-defense, though in a rather bellicose language?

Governor El-Rufai who is on record for issuing divisive, irresponsible, inciting and dangerous threats and statements in the past without being arrested or prosecuted, further legitimized the insane culture of appeasement of criminals in Nigeria by seeking a truce with alleged murderers instead of bringing them to justice and compensating the victims. If there is no other person that knows those who take senseless pride in shedding innocent blood of human beings because their cows have been attacked or killed, Governor El-Rufai knows them, by his own admission.

The Nigerian state and the SSS or DSS cannot be strong with those calling for self-defense and weak with those who are the real perpetrators of violence and mass murder. It is an unprovoked assault on the intelligence of patriotic Nigerians for the SSS to swiftly go after Apostle Suleiman when the alleged murderers who instigated his bellicose and unfortunate statements are walking freely. That is not just a case of a double standard but an audacious and tragic statement that in Nigeria under President Buhari, the criminal justice system is skewed to protect the killers and hunt those calling for self-defense or revenge against the alleged killers.

Is there any self-respecting and truthful person in Nigeria today that will deny the complicity and utter nonchalant disposition of the Buhari’s administration to the killings and destruction by the so-called Fulani herdsmen? Why are we pretending as if we are oblivious of the conspiratorial inaction of the federal government to the mass killing of Nigerians across the country by the herdsmen?

Who has been prosecuted for the Agatu massacre in Benue State? Who has been prosecuted for Nimbo massacre in Uzo-Uwani of Enugu State? Who has been prosecuted for the serial murder of protesting Shiite Muslims in the North? Who has been prosecuted for the continuous killing of Pro-Biafra agitators in the East? Do the lives of our people really matter to President Buhari?

Like many Nigerians, I was outraged by the statements made by Apostle Suleiman after watching the video. Religious leaders should foster the bond of unity, preach peaceful co-existence and not be the instigators of anarchy. Not all Fulani herdsmen are murderers. They are criminal elements in every tribe and religion. We should never submit to the temptation to stigmatize or label an entire religion or tribe for the criminality of its disgruntled members.

The herdsmen have their grievances which should be attended to. Similarly, the host communities and farmers also have their grievances. The bottom line is that no person or group of persons should be excused and protected by the Nigerian state for embarking on mass murder because his or their cows or farmlands or crops have been killed or destroyed, as the case may be.

A deeper and dispassionate introspection on this matter evinces the fact that many commentators and public intellectuals are shying away from. The fact that if the President Buhari-led administration had fulfilled her primary purpose under Section 14 (2) (b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) by prioritizing the security and welfare of its citizens, there would have been no calls for self-defense and revenge against the continuous attacks by the herdsmen.

Mr. Buhari failed, refused or neglected to act responsibly when the crisis between the herdsmen, their host communities and farmers reared its ugly head at the inception of his administration. The apparent inaction and seeming complicity of the President and other leaders like Governor El-Rufai allowed the crisis to fester and emboldened the herdsmen to continue to kill people indiscriminately at the slightest provocation.

It is because the Nigerian state under President Buhari is confused as to whose life is more important; between that of a human being in Southern Kaduna, Nimbo, Agatu or any other part of the country and a cow, that we now have a situation where those accused of mass murder are protected and compensated while the victims are abandoned and left unprotected and those who react fiercely or irresponsibly to the shameful and pathetic dilemma of the Nigerian state like Apostle Suleiman, are speedily targeted by the institutions of the state.

Get this clear: Apostle Suleiman is not above the law. He is not immune from arrest and prosecution. What we are saying is that it is unacceptable for the SSS to go after him over his bellicose utterances when the killers of innocent Nigerian Christians and Muslims are walking freely. This is not the time for anyone to pretend to love the rule of law more than others. Let justice be done and the law enforced without ethnic, religious or political bias.

Self-defense is a fundamental right recognized and guaranteed by Section 33 (2) (a) of the Nigerian Constitution. There is nothing unlawful in calling on those whom the Nigerian state has failed to protect and rescue from the murderous grip and attacks of bloodthirsty criminals to defend themselves. If Apostle Suleiman went beyond the constitutional allowances of self-defense and freedom of expression, let the law take its course.

However, it will be an aberration for Apostle Suleiman to be punished or persecuted over his utterances when the real perpetrators of the violence and the mindless killings that he complained of are left to go unpunished. Justice should be blind to all persons irrespective of their race, religion, sex, ethnicity or political leaning.

 

Inibehe Effiong is a Legal Practitioner and Convener of the Coalition of Human Rights Defenders (COHRD) and can be reached at: inibehe.effiong@gmail.com

DSS Invites Pastor Suleman For Questioning Over ‘Inciting’ Sermon.

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The Department of State Security Service (DSS) yesterday formally invited the General Overseer of Omega Fire Ministries, Apostle Johnson Suleman for interrogation, four days after its botched attempt to arrest him in Akure.

Suleman indicated last night that he would honor the invitation.

But he also dismissed insinuations that he was inciting one segment of the society against the other or that he hated Muslims and Fulanis.

The DSS, in a letter to Suleman, whose church is based in Auchi,  asked him to report at its headquarters in Abuja tomorrow  “for an interview by 10am over an inciting statement.”

An attempt by operatives of the agency to arrest  Suleman in his hotel room  in Ado-Ekiti was aborted by Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State who rushed to the hotel and took the pastor to the Government House.

Suleman was in the state for a crusade.

A top source said: “The service decided to invite Apostle Suleman to interact with him on whether or not he delivered any hard sermon and what informed it. Such interaction can reveal the mindset of such a person.

“There is no way the security service can be silent on any act capable of breaching the nation’s security.

“After the interaction with him, we will determine the next step. It can be in form of caution, signing undertaking or whatever the law says. It will be preemptive to say anything on the invitation.”

When contacted, Apostle Suleman’s Communications Adviser, Mr. Phrank Shaibu, said: “The General Overseer has received an invitation from DSS.

“Even though the invitation is ridiculous, as a law-abiding citizen, Apostle Johnson Suleiman will honour it.

“We also consider the invitation as an afterthought after the botched attempt to arrest Apostle Suleman.”

Suleman, in a statement yesterday, denied hating Muslims or Fulanis as being speculated in some quarters.

He said he merely asked members of his church to kill herdsmen who move close to the church’s headquarters in Auchi, Edo State.

Suleman said he was moved to make the call based on the mindless killings across the nation by Fulani herdsmen.

He said his driver in Lagos and Chief Security Officer of the church in Auchi are Muslims in whom he has absolute confidence.

Suleman also said some of his friends are Fulanis while a number of his family members are still Muslims, most of whom have benefitted from his philanthropic gestures.

He said: “I have friends as Fulanis. I have members as Fulanis in our northern churches.

“I have a driver who drives me whenever I am in Lagos, he is a Muslim. He has been driving me for years till date.

“I have bought him two cars as well.  If I am not tolerant, a Muslim should not be driving me.

“I discovered that the Chief Security Officer (of our church) was also a Muslim. Yes, he was a Muslim supervising the security unit our church.

“Funny enough, majority of my callers on this issue have been Muslims; they have re-echoed what I said on the tape and do not hold contrary views about it.”

He said that killings by herdsmen must be tackled collectively to save the nation, saying many of them were carrying out too many nefarious activities.

“I do not have issues with the Fulani people; I have seen and read of some good people from there. I have also seen extremely nice Muslims.

“For example, the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi is a Fulani man and also a Muslim. There was a church that was destroyed in his province, he personally rebuilt it.

“The Fulani people who are very enlightened understand the intricacies in this matter and most of them have been speaking with me.

“Whereas the herdsmen who are the perpetrators of this evil are happy with these developments because it has become a religious problem and this is part of my anger,” Suleman explained.

He went on: “There are still real Fulani herdsmen who are nomads and still taking care of their cattle everywhere.

“They carry sticks around. But these particular (killer) herdsmen carry guns, sophisticated weapons and the likes.

“I have made it clear that my anger is with the Fulani herdsmen and my point is; that no one should lay down to be killed by these people. Only cowards do that.

“And I stand my ground that the herdsmen who are killing should be dealt with.”

Earlier in a separate statement in Abuja on Wednesday, Shaibu said the church “wondered why its General Overseer could be so harassed for merely expressing his opinion on the menace of Fulani herdsmen, when freedom of expression is one of the rights guaranteed by the nation’s Constitution.

“The Fulani militia, masquerading as herdsmen have stated that they are going to kill him.

“Everyone knows that they are armed with AK47 and have already killed over 7000 persons in Nigeria. Women have been raped and houses destroyed.

“Yet, not one of them has been caught or is being prosecuted by the DSS or Federal Government.

“Are we saying that the man should fold his arms and allow the same Fulani militia to kill him?

“Is he wrong to give his security aides orders that they should kill any of the so called herdsmen found near him or his church? Is there nothing like self defence in our law?” he asked.

Shaibu said that the firebrand pastor’s message which may have drawn the ire of the DSS and the Federal Government was directed at the Fulani militia, in the guise of herdsmen,that have openly declared intention to kill him.

Shaibu said even if  the comments made by Apostle Suleman were found to be inciting , as alleged by the SSS, “a government that believes in robust debate as a means of strengthening democracy would simply have invited him for explanation , rather than attempting to kidnap him.

“We expected a more civilized conduct from a government that promised Change.”

“What most people do not know is that Apostle Suleiman’s father was a Muslim. He was born into a Muslim family.

“He has brothers and sisters that are Muslims and enjoy very cordial relationship with them.

“So to brand him anti Islam or anti Muslim is being mischievous or taking apostle’s message out of context,” he stated.