The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has decried the shoddy manner in which the case of the gruesome murder of General Muhammad Idris Alkali (rtd) is being handled. The displeasure of the human rights group was made known in a statement issued yesterday (Friday, 24th May, 2019) by its Founder and Director, Prof, Ishaq Akintola who expressed fear that the late general’s family as well as the Nigerian Muslim community may not get justice eventually.
It will be recalled that the car of Late General Muhammad Idris Alkali (rtd) who had been missing since September 3, 2018 was found at the bottom of the Dura-Du pond in Jos, Plateau State on September 29, 2018 after searching for two months. The late general’s body was later found in a deep well located in Dura on November 3, 2018.
In Prof. Akintola’s statement which read in part: “There is no doubt that this was an organized killing involving the Berom community. The melodrama acted out by Berom women who held a deceitful protest at the pond to dissuade the army from searching the site points to this fact”.
The Nigerian Police paraded nineteen Berom suspects on television on November 5, 2018 who were arraigned before Justice Daniel Longji at the High Court Number 5 in Jos, Plateau State. But seven of the arraigned suspects were granted bail on December 17, 2018.
Prof. Akintola further stated that “In our press statement dated December 20, 2018, we denounced the bail so speedily granted and described it as a miscarriage of justice and a judicial namby-pamby. Almost six months on, the case is still shrouded in terra incognito. The public is not aware of developments although our investigation has revealed that the next hearing of the case is June 16, 2019. Anyone who thinks the Alkali family and Nigerian Muslims has forgotten about this painful issue is living in self-denial”.
“MURIC demands transparency in this case on the part of both the Nigerian Police and the Plateau State judiciary. There must be no attempt at sweeping the matter under the carpet. In particular, the police should clarify the number of those arrested and the number of those granted bail. Police should clear the conflicting figures. In the same vein, we charge the judiciary in Plateau State to conduct the case in the most professional manner and in accordance with the provisions laid down by the Nigerian Judicial Council (NJC)”.
The Founder and Director of MURIC, Prof. Akintola finally appealed to the family of the Late General Muhammad Idris Alkali as well as Nigerian Muslims in general to patiently await the outcome of the case. He said “We advise the leadership of the Nigerian Muslim Ummah as well as the Muslim Lawyers Association (MULAN) to dispatch at least two senior Muslim lawyers to attend and observe all sittings on the case until it is finally decided”.
