NIGERIA: CAN accused as Sahara Reporters’ ‘twisted, slanted, fake’ report about Police Academy Commandant angers Muslims

*2023: Video of anti-North/Islamic preaching in Church revealed

*’And Buhari watches as these happen to us under him’

By KEMI KASUMU

An online newspaper, owned by Omoyele Sowore, a Nigerian generally identified as a forgiven coup plotter against the Nigeria’s Federal Government for reason of religion and ethnic sentiments because its head is a Muslim from Northern Nigeria, has once again been accused of trying to foment fresh fake, slanted and misrepresented news caused crisis to add to what is already on ground, and from which he cannot detach itself.

This came even as a viral video of a yet to be named pastor was shown to have engaged in a sectarian preaching capable of setting Christians and Muslims against one another in the coming general elections specially mentioning why (Muslim) ‘Fulani’  should not be in their voting agenda in 2023.

In several quarters currently within the Muslim Ummah, there is anger about activities of agents believed to have been unleashed on the Ummah by Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and who are said to be scattered over the professions including media, bar and civil societies, latest of which have been revealed to be activities of  Sahara Reporters.

The latest anger was coming the heels of a report by the Sahara Reporters shared by certain other media within the Ngbati press area of domination of South West, in which it said some unnamed policemen working at the Nigerian Police Academy, Wudil, Kano State, had asked President Muhammadu Buhari and the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, to call the commandant of the institution, Abdurrahman Ahmad, to order.

The Omoyele Sowore-owned online newspaper reported that “The officers, while speaking with Sahara Reporters, accused Ahmad, an Assistant Inspector-General of Police of marginalisation and a subtle islamisation agenda.”

Recall that when the Inspector General of Police Usman Alkali Baba announced approval of use of Hijab by female police officers, it was only Christian Association of Nigeria that kicked, saying the Yobe-born police boss was out to Islamise the Nigerian Police Force.  Although now said be a failed effort, the latest report by Sahara Reporters amidst Muslims’ Eid-el-Fitr celebrations was seen by some Islamic faithful as another plot by CAN and its agents within the professional societies to cause provoke with intent to foment crisis and then blame the Muslims for the smoke that comes therefrom.

It will be recalled that on Tuesday May 3, while Muslims in festive mood celebrated Eid-el-Fitr, Sahara Reporters, now known in several quarters especially within the Muslim Ummah of Nigeria as a medium working with some elements allegedly sponsored by Christian Association of Nigeria to bring down leadership of the country that has anything to do with Islam or Muslims, published a report it headlined: “EXCLUSIVE: Nigerian Police Academy Commandant, Ahmad Accused Of Islamisation Agenda, Separation Of Meals Between Cadets, Other Discriminatory Policies”.

It will also be recalled how Sahara Reporters published reports in the past among which the online newspaper, owned by a man that had been on trial for plotting to overthrow the Muhammadu Buhari government until he was “magnanimously” released and let to go home by the President, lied against the leadership of the Muslim Ummah writing unprintable things about him and his family just like, working with some elements within the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), it went after the governor of the state believed to be arrowhead of Islam in the country but still failed.

Many Muslims, angered by the yet subsiding development of Islamophobia now taken too far to the level of Nigeria Police Academy simply because it has a leadership that is known to be religious, have been ventilating their angers calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to tackle this intellectual warfare being waged against Muslims before he leaves office.

They believe that history of Nigeria will not forget the President if he leaves office with impression popular within the Ummah that under his administration the Muslims suffered most in the hands of Christian extremists being used by the West to wage war against them because of their Islamic identity.

One of the comments by unknown sources stumbled over said: “The need to put the commandant of Police Academy Wudil in Our prayers. When I saw the publication of Sahara reporters on the Islamization of the police academy, I called a lecturer in the University who is a brother to me and asked him the genesis of this publication and the truth about it. He told me that:

“The commandant is well knowledgeable in Islamic religion, he is even blessed with memorization of the complete Quran. Based on the above the commandant embarked on Tafsir during Ramadan as a result of which two (2) people accepted Islam and that is where his problem stated. Equally as a result of fasting Muslims do not go for lunch and therefore he directed for the enhancing of their dinner to complement the lost of lunch. The Christian faithful question why separating the dinner and enhancing the Muslims, that ‘it is their willingness not to take lunch and therefore need no compensation. He also became a target after giving the Muslim women the right to use simple Hijab saying that it will be a security threat to the University,” the source within the Nigeria Police Academic was reported to have downloaded the truth and nothing more or less than happened.

But to the source, “For the reason best known to Sahara Reporters, they went ahead to post the publication below calling it Islamization agenda. Please we need to encourage the commandant and put him in our prayers for protection against all odds,” the source said.

Asked about the possibility of truth in the source’s submission, a respondent (names withheld) said:

“We can only be bothered if the IGP or Musiliu Smith-led Police Service Commission (PSC) takes any action against the Commandant based on the Sahara Reporters’ report because, nobody now does not know what Sahara Reporters stands for in Nigerian journalism and security.

“Our concern should focus mainly on how and why CAN infiltrates sensitive system of the country without any head rolling.  If we go to Makkah, CAN will use Punch to go after us. If we smile to ourselves, CAN will do a press conference. If we take a unity course, it will cry to Yoruba Muslims “Hausa do not regard you as Muslims” – this that some people said around then was CAN propaganda that some ignorant Muslims in South West bought.

“If we choose to have a bank, CAN will cry woes. If we choose to enjoy our religious rights as enshrined in the national Constitution, CAN agitates to be given its, although they have no such in their faith (do they?).  To say about fasting Muslims that “they choose not to have lunch”, by whoever in that police academy, is provocation at its peak.”

2023: Video of anti-North/Islamic preaching in Church

The respondent, in effort to buttress his concerns about the Sahara Reporters version of journalism as Christian Association of Nigeria agenda against peace of Muslims over Islam in Nigeria, provided a viral video showing the way it has been done in some Pentecostal churches.

Talking about the video content he said: “This is part of the provocation going on.  A religious group that enjoys more than Muslims, even under Muslim, Northerner headed government, can still turn around to say this on coming election. So sad, but moves me not.