Boko Haram: Pantami reports newspaper to DSS, police
Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs says Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, is a man of peace and integrity.
Nigerians have been demanding Pantami’s resignation over his past comments in support of terror groups like Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
Although, the minister had since said he made those comments when he was younger and now his views have changed, some Nigerians have asked President Muhammadu Buhari to sack him.
Christian Association of Nigeria National President, Samuel Ayokunle, had also called for an investigation into the controversy surrounding the minister.
But NSCIA Deputy General Secretary, Salisu Shehu, said in a statement that those demanding the minister’s sack, including CAN, were only being mischievous.
Shehu said the NSCIA could have also called on the government to arrest a prominent former minister who bailed Mohammed Yusuf, the late founder of Boko Haram, thrice.
The NSCIA statement read, “With all these very clear achievements on contributing to the development of Nigeria and indeed to nation-building and peace-making, it becomes really appalling that the National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria would join the ignoble band-wagon of the architects of mischief who peddle lies and fabrications against the Honourable Minister.
“Forgetting the cordial relationship and mutual understanding and trust that exist between Christian and Muslim leaders in the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) and the painstaking efforts we are making to engender peaceful and harmonious co-existence amongst our followers, the President of CAN, obviously driven by prejudice, jumped into the frontline of the unreasonable ones, asking the DSS to go after Pantami.
“The National President of CAN needs to be reminded that the NSCIA has always exercised restraint on issues involving individual political office holders except when it becomes ultimately necessary like in the present case.
“If the NSCIA has been as prejudicious and as pathologically hateful, it would have asked the Nigerian Government in 2008 and 2009 to arrest and investigate a one-time prominent, active and vocal Christian Minister who at three different instances bailed the late leader of Boko Haram when the latter was arrested by the Nigerian security agents.
“In fact, it is pertinent here to ask the CAN National President that between Honourable Minister Pantami who engaged the leader of Boko Haram in debates against his wrong and misguided ideologies and that Christian Minister who bailed Muhammad Yusuf three times, who is it the country should rightly accuse of being a friend, supporter, or member of the extremist group – Boko Haram?”
But Shehu did not mention the name of the former minister.
The NSCIA chieftain also urged Muslims to shun those creating disaffection among Nigerians.
