You are not Islamic Outfits: - HURIWA to EFCC and DSS: *Condemns role of DSS in reported conversion of Jos girl:

A pro-democracy and Non-governmental organization HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has raised alarm of some actions and public statements of heads of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Department of State Services (DSS) which portrays them as some kind of “Islamic religious police”.

The Rights group has specifically asked that the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS) Alhaji Lawal Musa Daura to be restrained by the National Assembly and the Presidency from interfering in a completely civil and religious rights issues relating to an alleged conversion to Christianity of a female university undergraduate from her former religion which is Islam, same as that of the current DG of DSS.

Also, HURIWA in the statement by the National coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director Miss Zainab Yusuf, said it was a violation of section 10 of the constitution for the acting chairman of EFCC to announce what he called “Jihad” as the name of the current anti-corruption crusade.

The Rights group reminded the Acting Chairman of EFCC who had twice failed the confirmation hearing of the National Assembly, that Nigeria under the current constitution is not permitted to elevate one form of religious practices to a state religion as unambiguously prohibited in section 10 of the constitution.

Specifically, section 10 of 1999 constitution clearly states that: “The government of the Federation or of a state shall not adopt any religion as state Religion”.

But HURIWA said the inference or reference made directly to an all-out “Jihad” as the name of the ongoing anti-graft war is creating the impression that indeed the federal government as alleged in some quarters is using the anti-graft war as a disguise to Islamize the country.

HURIWA stated that the coincidence in the public statement on Jihad by Alhaji Ibrahim Magu of EFCC and the widely reported allegation of an ongoing Islamisation agenda by the current Presidency is too striking and dangerous to overlook particularly when virtually overwhelming majority of those who head all the security agencies are of the Islamic religion and from core Northern Nigeria. A statesman, Ben Nwabueze a law professor and a former Education minister had alleged that President Buhari appointed an all Moslem security chiefs as a cover to enforce Islamisation agenda. 

HURIWA recalled that in a public lecture at the weekend delivered at the 7^th convocation and 10^th anniversary of the fountain university, Osogbo in Osun State, Ibrahim Magu said: “This is why I said we owe it to ourselves; it is a Jihad for all of us to wage war against corruption”.

But HURIWA faulted the use of this religiously motivated word by the acting Chairman of EFCC just as the Rights body said the anti-graft war is not a Jihad but a constitutional law- based activities of government under a constitutional democracy to eradicate all forms of corruption in line with the due process of the laws of Nigeria which is not a religious entity. Nigeria is not a Theocracy and this must be reemphasized so public officials speak in a manner as not to create an impression of a hidden religious agenda."

On the reported alleged harassment of the family of Engineer Simput Dafup and Daniel Hassan in Jos Platesu State and their arrest by the Department of State services (DSS) over the conversion to Christianity of the 200-level student of Bingham University, Karu, Nasarawa State Miss Nabila Umar Sanda Galadima, HURIWA condemned the illegal use of the statutory mandate of an agency of government to serve the religious interest of a section of Nigeria.

“We are shocked to read that because an adult converted to another religion, the security agency of government has been deployed to intervene in this matter that is completely outside the statutory mandate of this publicly funded security body and is a matter that is strictly private and religious”.

“We call on the National Assembly to call the acting chairman of EFCC and the DG of DSS to desist from using public offices to promote and canvass the interests of a particular religious group which are direct affronts to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which absolutely prohibits the elevation of one religion as state religion”.