Tag Archives: Kaduna Government

Muslim Rights Concern blasts Kaduna government for labelling Shiite IMN “insurgent group”

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The Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, has condemned the Kaduna State Government for declaring the Shiite IMN an “insurgent group”.

The civic group described the action of the Kaduna State Government as “a very dangerous dimension.”

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the Kaduna State Government in its White Paper released on Monday stated that “for all intent and purpose, the IMN is an insurgent group and ought to be treated as such.”

The government said it would prosecute the detained leader of the IMN, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, for all the “other crimes” his group has committed in the past 30 years.

Mr. El-Zakzaky and his wife have been detained without trial since December last year after soldiers killed over 300 members of his group.

The soldiers accused the IMN members of blocking the road and plotting to kill the Army Chief, Tukur Buratai, a claim the Shiites denied.

The killing was condemned by local and international rights group.

In its statement on Tuesday signed by its director, Ishaq Akintola, apart from condemning the Kaduna government, MURIC also cautioned the IMN on its past actions calling on members of the group “to do some self-assessment.”

Read MURIC’s full statement below.

Kaduna State Government yesterday declared the embattled Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) an insurgent group.

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) rejects this new label for an otherwise pacific organization. The new declaration is nothing short of calling a dog a bad name in other to hang it. Kaduna State government is being economical with the truth, killing a fly with a sledge hammer and engaging in executive tyranny.

This is a very dangerous dimension. Coming shortly after a competent court of law ordered the release of the IMN leader, Shaykh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky from detention, this stigmatization is just another attempt by the state government to jump the gun. The declaration is short in equity, long in injustice. But we must remember Martin Luther’s warning that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

Kaduna government is pregnant with ingredients of all the five evils which Chamberlain spoke about, viz, brute force, bad faith, injustice, oppression and persecution. Why is it that the only thing men learn from history is that they learn nothing from history? Kaduna has not learnt anything from the Boko Haram phenomenon. Kaduna has chosen to prove both Hegel and Karl Marx right in their postulate that history always repeats itself.

MURIC is however constrained to remind all stakeholders of the divine warning contained in Qur’an 8:25 “Fear a tumult which will affect those who caused it as well as the innocent ones”. Was this not how Boko Haram started? Police brutality and extra-judicial killing of the group’s leader caused its metamorphosis into a terror machine. But is it the police alone that are facing the consequences today?

MURIC calls on well-meaning Nigerians to speak out. It was the great Shaykh Uthman Bin Fudi (Uthman Dan Fodio) who said, “In an unjust society, silence is a crime…” Let us speak up now before it is too late.

But members of the IMN also need to do some self-assessment. Something must be wrong with a system against which so many neighbours testify. Several people (including Muslims) confirm that they had had bitter encounters with members of the IMN. They complain about the group’s open display of arrogance. All those people could not have been lying. Something must be wrong with a doctrine which embarrasses the rest of The Muslim Ummah and from which they dissociate themselves.

We commend the leadership of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) for its efforts in resolving the IMN debacle and the maturity it has manifested in handling the matter. Due to the sensitive nature of the issue, NSCIA has engaged in quiet diplomatic shuttling between governments and the IMN from the beginning. We urge the NSCIA to continue the dialogue.

In conclusion, we appeal to the Kaduna State government to de-label IMN and begin a process of reconciliation and reorientation for its members. That is the path of visionary leadership and responsible governance. It is the path of peace. On its own part, IMN must improve its relationship with other Islamic organizations.

“We Are Not Owing Workers Salaries” – Kaduna Government insists.

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The Kaduna State Government has dismissed allegations saying it is among the 33 States in the country that cannot pay workers salaries.

 

In an interview with Channels Television, the State Commissioner for Finance, Mr Abdul Kwari, explains that civil servants in the state under the present administration have been receiving their salaries on the 25th of every month after the verification of workers was conducted. He however described the report as inaccurate and misleading.

 

The Finance Commissioner further explains that in spite of the challenging economic situation in the country, the state government is embarking on many people oriented projects that align with his campaign promises to alleviate poverty and ensure wealth creation.
He also said that with the improvement of Internally Generated Revenue and the plan to obtain loan from financial institutions, government will be able to complete some of the ongoing projects across the state.

 

“It cannot be true because we have been regular in our salary payments, we owe no worker any salary as today that i speak to with you.

 

“The 25th of every month, has been our salary date, and we have been keeping fate with that coming into this government, is the undertaken of the governor that he would try as much as possible to meet up with the obligation to workers, and he has been keeping fate with that.

 

“We have no issues of salary whatsoever the state level and also at the local government level. Because we make sure that whatever is due to local government is giving to them, and they also discharge that responsibility with utmost care. This has been the story of the state, and we are not in any way owing salary. And we shouldn’t have been listed among the states that owe salaries of workers.

 

That report, wherever it came from is false, we pay salaries even before FAAC allocation comes in, while other states wait for money to be received from the Federal Government, we have been judicious enough in our management of resources. We are a 1.6 bIllion Naira IGR state and this we have celebrated, and we make sure that salaries receive topmost priority.

 

” This is the directive of the governor, Nasir El-Rufai and the Ministry of Finance has been discharging that responsibility , and 25th of every month like i said, is salary day. I don’t think that being indebted is a crime as far as you make judicious use of the funds received.

 

” We may be exposed to loan in the future and we will make sure we complete ongoing projects. So I don’t think it will be a bad idea and there is nothing wrong with taking loan so far that you can make judicious use of it.

 

“The best way to deploy government resources is to plan ahead of time and I think Kaduna state is a shinning example of that”

Kaduna Government begins demolition of Shi’ite schools.

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Some residents of Zaria, Kaduna State on Thursday expressed happiness as a primary and secondary school, Fudiyya School, belonging to the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, popularly called the Shi’ite sect, was demolished in Zaria.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the school, called Fudiyya Centre, is located at Babban-Dodo, Gangaren-Fadama in Zaria.

A cross section of the residents hailed the government for embarking on the exercise in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria in Zaria.

Malam Musa Musa, a resident of the area, said the demolition was not only a welcome idea but a good step in the right direction.

Musa said: “We have long been waiting for this action; it came at a time we did not expect.

“However, we are really happy with what happened today.

“These people have been disturbing us whenever they are conducting their activities.”

Another resident, Malam Baba Bala, advised the Kaduna State Government not to relent in its efforts to curtail the “worrisome activities” of the Shi’ite sect, which, according to him, were infringing on the rights of others.

Bala said: “I must confess that Zaria is now safe without El-Zakzaky.

“We are behind what this government is doing; we hope it will carry out the good work to its logical conclusion.”

NAN reports that the demolition commenced at about 2:30pm under the supervision of armed security personnel.

When contacted for comment, officials of KASUPDA declined comment, saying they have no authority to speak to the press.

Samuel Aruwan the Director-General of Media to Governor Nasiru El-Rufa’i, said he just received the information.

Aruwan promised to call back to brief NAN on the position of government on the exercise.

But as at the time of filing this report, the D-G had not called back neither had he responded to several phone calls nor text messages sent to his mobile phone on the issue.