Ishaq Akintola, director of Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), says Isa Pantami, minister of communications and digital economy, has no link with Boko Haram.
Akintola said this in a statement on Wednesday in reaction
to reports linking the minister with the insurgents.
Some of the newspapers which published the report have
retracted it.
The MURIC director described as fake news the report that the minister is on the watch-list of the US for having ties with terrorist groups.
“It is fake news. It
is a lie from the pit of jahannam. It is a product of malice, envy and evil
desire concocted in the laboratory of the notorious ‘pull him down’ (PhD)
syndrome. It exists only in the imagination of the authors of the evil plan. It
will not stand the test of authenticity,” he said.
“Pantami is a honest, dilligent and uncommon Islamic scholar
whose ability to combine his discipline with digital expertise has raised him
above his peers and made him an indispensable asset to this country. It is only
people with diseased minds who do not want progress for Nigeria that can make
such malicious yet false allegation against him.
“We have been reading Pantami’s articles and watching his
lecture videos long before he became minister and on no occasion did he pour
encomiums on terrorists or their aides. On the contrary, he always condemned
violence and terrorism. Therefore, those who claim that Pantami ‘spoke
glowingly’ of associates of terrorist leaders are apostles of Lucifer and
pathological liars.
“In fact, Dr. Pantami
removed the rug from under the feet of Yusuf, the erstwhile leader of Boko
Haram. This he did in several debates during his days as a university lecturer
and those video tapes are still available for all to watch.
“We believe that Pantami’s detractors are after something
else, otherwise the threat issued by Shekau, the current leader of Boko Haram,
against the person of Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami would have been enough to
dissuade them from embarking on this futile attempt at damaging the reputation
of a great scholar and a patriot nulli secundus.
“Shekau’s threat against Pantami was made openly in a video
clip on 13th February, 2021 (just two months ago) and it was public knowledge
at the time. It prompted the Nigerian authorities and friends of the minister
to urge him to take adequate security measures around his person and family
members. Is it not paradoxical that the same Pantami whom terrorists threatened
to kill is now being accused of being a sponsor and ally of terrorism? It is
highly illogical.
“We strongly suspect that those behind the fake news are
jittery over the minister’s revolutionary ideas particularly the ongoing
linkage of the NIN with SIM cards. This development is believed to be giving
criminals sleepless nights as it is capable of exposing their identities. This
fake news is therefore an attempt to blackmail him into stopping the
revolutionary linkage of the NIN to the SIM. Nevertheless, the fact that the
United States embassy has dissociated itself from the allegation thereby giving
the minister a clean bill of health is didactic and reassuring.
“MURIC is constrained
to react to the fake story not only because of our deep commitment to upholding
the truth and defending the innocent, but also because we have also been
victims of such malicious and damaging false allegation in the past.
“We recall the false accusation against us that our
director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, collected $200,000 from ISWAP and Boko
Haram. Those behind the allegation could not substantiate it and nothing was
heard of them again. We knew at the time that it was an attempt to blackmail us
into silence but we refused to be silenced by men of evil. We denied the
allegation and we forged ahead with the protection, promotion and projection of
Allah-given and fundamental rights of innocent Nigerians.
“We therefore advise Dr. Pantami to ignore his detractors
and continue the good work which he is doing for the country. Nigerians are
proud of him. Nigerians are praying for him. Nigerians repose their full
confidence in him. MURIC is solidly behind him in his efforts to digitalise the
economy and rid Nigeria of criminals and unscrupulous elements.”
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