Suspended Chief Imam of Apo Legislative Quarters Mosque, Shiekh Nuru Khalid, has formally been sacked from his position.
Sheikh Khalid has been in the news since he was suspended after delivering a sermon on insecurity that criticised the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government over killings in Nigeria.
In the sermon, the Sheikh had criticized Buhari’s government over its failure to tackle the escalating insecurity and killings across the country.
The imam also faulted Buhari for failing to visit and console victims affected following the recent Abuja-Kaduna train attack, while also suggesting some measures the electorate should devise should the authorities fail to protect their lives.
Subsequently, on Monday, the chairman of the mosque committee, Senator Saidu Dansadau, announced that Khalid’s suspension had been upgraded to sack.
He said that Khalid was sacked for not being remorseful despite his suspension as the Imam of the mosque.
Dansadau, in a letter issued on Monday clarified that the move was due to his call for Muslims not to vote unless questions had been answered.
The letter partly reads, “We regret to inform you that from today, April 4, 2022, you have been disengaged from the services of the mosque. This action is occasioned by the non-remorseful attitude you exhibited following your suspension on April 2.
“Akamakallah, you know better than me by the teaching of Islam, the essence of administering punishment is to correct behavior. Unfortunately, your media reaction to the suspension creates the impression that you are not remorseful, NOT to talk of humbly reflecting on the consequences of your utterances.
“Leadership demands a great sense of responsibility. If our words do more harm than good to the larger interest of the country or the public. We have a responsibility to maximize restraint for the good of the public. It is obvious, however, that you don’t seem keen to modify your Friday sermon to be reflective of the volatility of the security situation in the country.
“You are an influencer; your words carry a lot of weight, and your words can make or mar our situation. Your words can be taken advantage of by mischief makers, those responsible for these security challenges or enemies of the country for their devilish agendas. As leaders of the mosque, we have a sacred responsibility to avoid utterances that are capable of making a bad situation worse. This is our fear and concern.”
Reacting to the development, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) accused the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration of trying to silence religious leaders following the sack of the Khalid. However, the APC is not a member of the Mosque’s committee.
The opposition party in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, said the action against Sheikh Nuru Khalid signals a dangerous trend of fascism in the country.
The statement partly reads, “This APC’s recourse to an onslaught on the voice of citizens as witnessed in the clampdown on religious leaders, the opposition, the civil society and the media indicates an unacceptable descent to tyranny and imposition of a siege mentality to suppress dissenting voices in the face of APC’s manifesto failure.
“It is often said that when propaganda, falsehood and lies have been promoted, elevated and institutionalized by a government (like the APC has done) every truth by the citizens is viewed as a rebellion, which the government feels obliged to crush by all means.
“This is the character of fascism which is gradually and steadily creeping into our country under the APC and now deoxygenating our citizen’s exercise of their freedom of expression as guaranteed under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).
“The clampdown on Sheikh Khalid is reminiscent of the days of the obnoxious Military Decree 4 of 1984, under General Muhammadu Buhari, as Head of State, when telling the truth was categorized as a crime. Those days are scaringly creeping back”!
