The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), in its Eid-el-Maolud message, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to pardon the 54 soldiers, who were imprisoned for refusing to fight Boko Haram insurgents with poor weapons under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Federal Government led by Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
MURIC made this call in a statement issued by its President, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, copy of which was sent to The DEFENDER on Thursday.
The Muslim rights group made this call just as some respondents seized the mood of the Maolud to remind the President they described as listening leader about the need to complete the pardon and release of entitlements of three officers left in the cold by the selective pardon done by former President Jonathan when he pardoned Lt. Gen. Oladipo Dipo who was said to be the main factor in the Diya’s coup of 1997 while leaving those whose involvement was “mere” awareness but not reporting Diya to Abacha were left out unpardoned.
They said the President should bring his spirit of equity to bear on the officers namely former Minister of Communications, Major General Tajudeen Olanrewaju, Col. Jawando and late Lt. Col. A. O. Akinyode, who was said to have been tortured to death in prison during the incarceration by Abacha government of the arrested Diya’s group.
As for MURIC, noting that the Federal Government’s declaration of Friday December 1, 2017 as holiday is to mark the birthday of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), reminded the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, of the need to pardon some 54 soldiers it believed would have been wrongly persecuted since, by interpretation, it was not their fault as it was not possible for the soldiers to fight heavily kitted Boko Haram insurgents without corresponding weapons.
It would be recalled that money that should have been used to buy state of the art weapons for the soldiers to fight the insurgents were, upon assuming office on May 29, 2015 by President Buhari, discovered to have been diverted and shared into different pockets of leaders of the then ruling PDP.
According to the statement, the Muslim Rights Concern, which felicitated with the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III and the entire Muslim Ummah of Nigeria, on the occasion of the Maolud, appealed to President Buhari grant presidential pardon to the 54 soldiers, while the respondents added that the President should also seize the same season to pardon those yet to be pardoned of the Diya’s group.
The statement read in full: “The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) felicitates with the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, CFR, mni on this auspicious occasion. We also congratulate the Nigerian Muslim Ummah and the entire Nigerian citizenry for witnessing another birthday of the greatest man that ever lived.
“According to the Glorious Qur’an, Prophet Muhammad was the seal of all prophets (Qur’an 33:40) and an exemplary leader (Qur’an 33:21). He was sent to the whole world (Qur’an 34:28) as a compassion to Muslims and non-Muslims alike (Qur’an 21:107 wa ma arsalnaaka ilaa rahmatan lil‘aalamiin وما ارسلناك الا رحمة للعالمين).
“The celebration of the Prophet’s birthday is therefore the recognition of Compassion. It is the day of mercy, a day that deserves being declared as Compassion Day by world organizations like the United Nations.
“A fortiori, MURIC reminds President Muhammadu Buhari of the plight of the 54 soldiers who were imprisoned for refusing to fight Boko Haram insurgents with poor weapons. FG may not realize it, but the 54 soldiers actually exposed the $2.1 billion arms fraud. They are whistle-blowers, not criminals.
“Paradoxically, while other whistle-blowers are being rewarded, the 54 soldiers are languishing in jail. This casts a shadow on our war against corruption. It is very disheartening.
“In the spirit of the Compassion Day which the Prophet’s birthday signifies, MURIC appeals to Mr. President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to grant presidential pardon to the 54 soldiers.
“We call on civil society, particularly anti-corruption crusaders to speak out for the 54 soldiers. We also appeal to state governors and chief judges to use the occasion to visit prisons in their states with a view to setting free a large number of inmates particularly those awaiting trial.”
