Sokoto man has retracted statement calling for killing of Tinubu’s wife – MURIC

A man who called for the assasination of President Bola Tinubu’s wife, Remi, because of her religious belief has retracted his comments and apologised.

lawblogng had eailer reported that Sanusi Abubakar said he made the comment during the 2023 presidential campaigns to sway support to his political party.

Mr Abubakar, who is based in Sokoto State, retracted the comment after he reached out to the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), the organisation’s chairman in Kano State, Hassan Indabawa, said in a statement.

“Reacting to the press statement released by MURIC on Friday 23rd February, 2024, a man, identified as Sanusi Abubakar who was pretending to be an Islamic scholar, has reached out to MURIC, withdrawing all his wild, thoughtless, provocative, reckless and misguided calls for the killing of Senator Remi Tinubu, the wife of Mr President,” Mr Indabawa said.

He said the MURIC headquarters had condemned and disowned the man in its statement on Friday, the same day that he made the call.

“In a 2 minutes, 24 seconds video clip sent to the Sokoto Chapter of MURIC on Monday, 26th February, 2024, Sanusi Abubakar completely and entirely retracted his offensive statements which were capable of breeding mayhem, social combustion and religious unrest of unknown proportions.

“The man apparently realised his egregious gaffe by reaching out to MURIC to register the withdrawal of his wild call by agreeing with MURIC that, his teachings are misleading, his claims are false and his extremist views are capable of pushing some ignorant youths into unnecessary violence”, Mr Indabawa added.

Mr Indabawa said Mr Abubakar admitted in his apology letter that his comments were un-Islamic and had no basis in Islamic teaching.

“The man (Mr Abubakar) further admitted that his claims were un-Islamic and without any basis in Islam. He claimed to have been driven by political considerations, and had made the wild statement during the 2023 presidential campaign, thus exposing how some Nigerians are being influenced by desperate and unscrupulous politicians who sponsor misguided elements to propagate hate and divisive politics on the pulpit,” Mr Indabawa said.

Meanwhile, Mr Indabawa said the MURIC has called for regulations of religious sermons to address hate campaigns perpetrated by some clerics.

“MURIC calls on Muslim and Christian leadership in Nigeria to critically look into the involvement of some clerics in partisan politics by devising ways and means of regulating their sermons and preachings in order to avoid hate campaigns and instead, encourage them to promote understanding and peaceful coexistence.

“MURIC further observed how some clerics, out of desperation for fame and material gratification, succumb to involvement in partisan politics, thereby attracting disgrace and humiliation to themselves in an attempt to serve the interest of some corrupt politicians. Those are the types of clerics who Shaykh Uthman bin Fodio (1754- 1817) identified as Ulamaul- Suu (the scholars of evil).