OIC brands Boko Haram members ‘criminals’

Members of Boko Haram who have been terrorising the northeast with gun and bomb attacks are outlaws and their actions have no place in Islam, secretary-general of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), Eyad Ameen Madani, said on Monday.

Speaking at the Presidential Villa after a closed-door meeting of an OIC delegation with President Goodluck Jonathan, Madani said the 57-member organisation would continue backing Nigeria’s battle with terrorists, whose acts are criminal and un-Islamic.

“We are honoured to meet Mr. President, and we are here primarily to listen to the president, his vision about the OIC, the priorities of the OIC in the years to come,” he told journalists.

“We are also here to express our solidarity with Nigeria in facing up to this terrorist organisation and to condemn the terrorist acts they have been committing, and to show our condolences to the Nigerian people, to the families of those who were affected.

“The OIC has issued statements that are very clear, that these people are outlaws, what they do is criminal act [and] it has absolutely nothing to do with Islam, Islamic teachings, the religion of Islam, the history, the culture, the civilisation of Islam and we should identify them for what they are as a terrorist group.”

He said they listened to the president and offered to help in terms of expressing support for the government, and getting actively involved in facing up to the terrorists.

“OIC can be involved in many ways because the crisis is multi-dimensional,” he said.

“If the Nigerian government would allow it, we will convene an inter-faith dialogue, which will show many aspects of similarities between not only Christians and Muslims, but between all faiths and convictions.”

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aminu Wali, thanked the organisation for supporting the government during this critical “hour of challenge”.

“The fact that the OIC has expressed its position of support and understanding at this hour of our challenges goes to show that it is playing its role to support any of its member state that has any problem, either socially, economically, religiously or otherwise,” he said.

“So this is something that should be a message to every Nigerian that OIC is a body that is willing and able to come to the aid of its member states, as is explained by the secretary-general.”

The OIC’s public condemnation of Boko Haram comes two days after the sect murdered the emir of Gwoza, Alhaji Idriss Timta, a Muslim first-class monarch, while en route to Gombe for the funeral of the late emir of Gombe, Alhaji Shehu Abubakar.

The emir of Uba, Alhaji Ismaila Mamza; and the emir of Askira, Alhaji Abdullahi Askirama, who were travelling with him in the same vehicle were lucky to escape unhurt.