6th May, 2019
Prof. Ishaq Akintola, Director, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has urged Muslims to use the holy month of Ramadan to supplicate for the freedom of Leah Sharibu and the remaining Chibok girls still in the hands of Boko Haram insurgents.
Akintola in his Ramadan message on Monday said that the continued stay of Sharibu and the Chibok girls in Boko Haram’s camp is a dark spot on Nigeria’s white linen.
“Whereas the Federal Government and Muslim Ummah desire freedom for those innocent girls, the insurgents are keeping them in captivity in order to use them as human shields, to boost their negotiation power.
“The overall objective of Boko Haram is to ignite a religious war by attacking places of worship. It was when that ploy failed that they resorted to abducting Christian girls with the hope of provoking Christendom.
“This is why Nigeria’s religious leaders must exercise extra patience. They must not play into the hands of the insurgents. They must refrain from emotional outbursts.
“Instead, they must sink their differences and come together in the name of humanity to fight the evil in their midst. We reiterate that terrorists have no religion.
“Nigerian Muslims must invoke the incomparable spiritual might of Ramadan to neutralise the supposedly invincible power of Boko Haram to set Sharibu and the Chibok girls free,” he said.
Akintola also called for prayers for peace, security, political stability and economic buoyancy for Nigeria.