Press Release: MURIC CONDEMNS ATTACK ON AC SUPPORTERS AT OKUKU 26th March, 2007

The convoy of the Action Congress gubernatorial candidate, Engr Rauf Aregbesola was viciously attacked on Wednesday 21st March 2007 at Okuku, the hometown of Governor Oyinlola of Oshun State. About five vehicles belonging to supporters of the AC were severely damaged while several people were injured.

We of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) view this as a most dangerous trend. We condemn the attack as callous, brutal and barbaric. We charge the state governor to exercise restraint and to tolerate the opposition. MURIC will hold Oyinlola responsible if Oshun state goes up in flames. The governor should not seek to gain through violence what it has lost through gross incompetence, insensitivity to the will of the people of Oshun State and negligence of the state’s infrastructure. We remind politicians in general that violence is a mark of political immaturity capable of robbing the citizenry of the dividends of democracy.

We appeal to the AC in Oshun State as well as its gubernatorial candidate to continue in its peaceful mien and not to contemplate retaliation. MURIC charges the Oshun State Police Command with the responsibility of protecting Engr Aregbesola in particular and his supporters in general. We give the police this task because of events of the past. All signs point to the fact that the ruling party in the state seeks to intimidate the most visible opposition in order to retain its fast-slipping grip on the populace.

We are disturbed that Aregbesola’s convoy was attacked in spite of the permit granted by the police for the event. There are no reports of arrests of the attackers so far. We task the police to perform its duty without fear or favour, to create a level playing ground for all and to be transparently fair in all its dealings.

Dr. Is-haq Akintola                                           Mallam Yaqub Ahmad
DIRECTOR                                                              SECRETARY