The Unity Forum
(Peace, Unity and Progress Association)
Suite 207 APC Plaza Nr. 12 Cape Town Str. Off IBB Way, Zone 4 Wuse, Abuja Tel: 08033063826, 08033584659, 08033041663
DARUL-ISLAM AND THE AFTERMATH OF BOKO HARAM
When condemning the Boko Haram incidence, the Unity Forum in it release of July 29, advised government and state agencies to handle the aftermath with utmost caution in order to avoid official high-handedness and abuse. Since the containment of the Boko Haram, innocent citizens, by mere appearance, have been molested, arrested, arraigned and in some cases extra-judicially killed on the excuse that they were possibly members of the sect. This has generated anxiety and concern in sections of the community. The Constitution of Nigeria is clear on the rights of the people as it states in chapter IV, Section 34 sub section 1(a) that “no person shall be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment”. It is in this stead that the people believe that government ought to do better than it is doing as regard the rights of the citizens. Chapter II, section 14 subsection 2(b) of the constitution states that “the security and the welfare of the people should be the primary purpose of government”. Ignoring this portion of the rights of citizens portends danger to our socio-political wellbeing, encourages rumours and insinuations and generates tension, posing threat to national security and stability.
Recently, news has it that the members of Darul-Islam Group majority of them Nigerians have been evacuated from their enclave of over seventeen (17) years in Niger state to a camp and finally to their various communities of origin with the use of about 1500 armed mobile police men, operatives of the National Intelligence agency (N.I.A), State Security Services (S.S.S.) and the Nigerian Immigration Service. The exercise was carried out on the orders of the President on prompting by the Niger state governor Dr Babangida Aliyu. These Nigerian citizens were evacuated from Darul Islam where they had peacefully lived together in a community for over 17 years to different states of the Federation despite the fact that the constitution in section 41(1) guarantees that “every citizen of Nigeria is entitled to move freely throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part thereof”. The government may unwittingly have started compartmentalising Nigerians into their ethnic or religious enclaves with dire consequences to national unity and integration.
The major offence of the Darul-Islam inhabitants, as reported, is that they are cosmopolitan people from various states of the federation who choose to live in strict adherence to their religious beliefs. They symbolised this having their men wear beards and long clothes and their women wear hijab, an appearance that the Police claim, make them prone to violence. Similar colonies or enclaves like that of Sat Guru Maharaji and that of the Jesus of Oyingbo did not attract similar profiling. Section 38 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria states that “every person shall be entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion including freedom to change his or her religion or belief and freedom” (either alone or in community with others, and in public or private) to manifest and propagate his religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance”.
The hurried evacuation of the Darul Islam members from their place of abode would have caused them losses in their established economic activities, their houses, farmlands and other physical assets they might have acquired over time. We in the Unity Forum advice that these and similar cases must be handled in the most sensitive manner possible to avoid giving a contrary intention or profiling. We therefore advice;
- That the people of Darul Islam be paid adequate compensation for the disruption of their economic activity during the rainy season and to ease their resettlement wherever they may end up at.
- That innocent citizens who have been molested should be apologised to, those arrested wrongly be released.
- That our intelligence community be empowered to enable them track possible threats on time and advice quickly and accordingly.
M. M. Abdu (Signed)
Chairman
