Muslims Disown Boko Haram

The Muslim Ummah of Southwest (MUSWEN) has dissociated itself from the activities of the Boko Haram sect. 

The group condemned the sect for unleashing violence on the nation, including the killing and maiming of innocent people. 

The communique by its President and Executive Secretary, Prof Daud Noibi and Prof Ishaq Oloyede, decried the sect's violent activities.

According to the Nations Newspaper:

MUSWEN noted that Boko Haram's activities have no place in Islam, the religion it described as peace-loving.

The communique reads: "We repeat unequivocally our earlier condemnation of the use of violence to settle scores in the Nigerian polity and dissociate ourselves from all the dastardly acts claimed by the group, known as Boko Haram.

"We declare that the violent activities of the group are against the dictates of Islam, which is a religion of peace, and the group, therefore, is not representative of the Muslims in Southwest Nigeria and the country as a whole.

"Religious ignorance, indoctrination, provocation and intolerance should be seriously and frontally tackled."

To tackle these challenges, MUSWEN urged the Federal Government to make Islamic Studies and Christian Religious Studies compulsory up to secondary school level, saying this would enhance moral values and instil the fear of God in youths.

It advised "that branches of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) should be urgently established in every state to be a meeting point for Muslim and Christian leaders at the grassroots to discuss issues affecting their religions and thereby foster peace and harmony among their congregations".

MUSWEN added: "Government security apparatus should pay greater attention to intelligence gathering to nip criminality in the bud.

"Governments at all levels - Executive, Legislature and Judiciary at local, state and federal - should take practical, transparent and verifiable steps to enforce the country's laws against acts of corruption, and drastically reduce wastage and the cost of governance in order to regain the trust of the Nigerian people.

"State governments, especially in the Southwest, should establish agricultural projects and farm settlements in every local government to provide employment, boost food production and reduce hunger and poverty in the land."