Daily Post Nigeria
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The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has expressed anger over calls for the Department of State Services to invite the Communications Minister, Ali Pantami for questioning over his comments on terror groups by the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Samson Ayokunle.
NSCIA said forgetting the cordial relationship and mutual understanding and trust that exist between Christian and Muslim leaders in the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), the President of CAN, jumped “into the frontline of the unreasonable ones, asking the Department of State Services to go after Pantami.”
A statement by Prof. Salisu Shehu, the Deputy Secretary-General of the NSCIA, said the body under the leadership of the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Saad Abubakar, has been inundated with barrages and deluge of lies, fabrications and smear campaigns being churned out against Pantami.
The war of words between members of the House of Representatives over Ali Pantami saga has continued. On Saturday, the Spokesperson of the House, Benjamin
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has said no sane government would fold its arms and remain indifferent towards the unprecedented security threats orchestrated by non-State actors.
Governor Wike stated this when the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor and other top military officers paid him a courtesy call at the Government House, Port Harcourt.
The Governor, who charged the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor to reduce the level of insurgency in the country, cited terrorism as one of the biggest existential threats to the country.
He advised him to bring his experience to bear as he has been brought in “to see how you can solve the security problems of this country.
Ozekhome charged civil society organisations and Nigerians to legally compel the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN) to prosecute the minister for terrorism. The lawyer also blasted the Presidency for dismissing Pantami’s past radical comments supporting the activities of terrorist groups like the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. Ozekhome in a statement of Friday, April 23, 2021, said the presidency’s position that Pantami should be forgiven after his apology is a ‘pedestrian argument’. In the statement, the lawyer said, although Pantami cannot be prosecuted under the Terrorism Act, because his alleged terrorism act occurred some years before the enactment of the Terrorism Act in 2011.
Daily Post Nigeria
Published
The Ali Pantami saga is snowballing into an in-house fight between members of the National Assembly.
This is as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) caucus in the House of Representatives attacked the Spokesperson of the House, Ben Kalu for his comments on the Pantami saga.
Kalu had on Thursday said the Minority Leader, Ndudi Elemelu used the wrong legislative procedure in his call for the resignation of Pantami.
It would be recalled that Elumelu had on Wednesday during plenary raised a point of order, calling for the resignation or suspension of Pantami over his alleged links with extremists.