The Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, has condemned the bail granted to 20 out of the 28 suspects arrested in connection with the killing of retired General Idris Alkali.
The suspects were granted bail three days ago by Justice Daniel Longji of the Plateau State High Court.
MURIC expressed disappointment in a statement signed by its Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola and issued to DAILY POST Thursday.
The group described the bail as a travesty of justice.
The statement added, “We are greatly disappointed. How can those who actively connived with dangerous and notorious killers be allowed to go home so soon? What message is the Plateau judiciary trying to pass to Nigerians?
“This is a travesty of justice. This bail is pregnant with ethnic and religious prejudice. It can best be described as judicial namby-pamby.
“Peace has eluded the Middle Belt not because culprits were not known but because such perpetrators have never been brought to justice. This must not happen in this case.
“The Alkali case must be seen as different by all stakeholders not only because his killing has exposed hundreds of such killings in the past but it has expanded the identity of the victims to Muslims from all parts of Nigeria.
“This development has triggered the interest of all Muslims in the country as they have now seen how hundreds of their fellow Muslims embarked on journeys of no return around the Plateau axis. This recent awareness is very dangerous and can lead to nationwide religious crisis particularly if the authorities handle the prosecution of those in detention with levity.
“Instead of sweeping the case under the carpet, Nigerians expect that a more serious approach should be adopted. We believe that the suspects who were detained so far are mere messengers. The security agencies have gone to sleep since the arrest of those hirelings despite MURIC’s demand for deeper investigations and the need to apprehend and prosecute the sponsors.
“No big figure has been named since we made that crucial demand. It shows that something is still wrong somewhere. The failure of the security agencies to go after the sponsors is a big minus and it portrays them as unwilling to pursue the matter to a logical conclusion. The issue at hand demands rigorous investigation and ironcast determination to get to the root of the matter. The dons behind the killers, the financiers and the influence wielders must be the targets of a sweeping investigation if we all want peace to reign in this country.
“Anything short of the above is still a huje joke. But releasing those detained on suspicion of killing Alkali can be most scandalous. It had better not happen. We seriously object to their bail because they are likely to tamper with the investigations. The killers are likely to know some of their sponsors. They should therefore remain in protective custody because they are likely to be silenced or spirited out of the country by powerful individuals who have vested interest in the case.
“We assert that Nigerian Muslims will lose confidence in the security agencies if this case is bungled. We therefore call on the Federal Government to show interest in the case and to send strong representation to the hearings. We charge the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General of the Federation to keep an eye on the proceedings. We also invite the Plateau State judiciary to desist from frustrating the security agencies.
“Finally, we warn against a similar wishy-washy treatment of the remaining eight accused of actual involvement in the killing of General Alkali. We call on the security agencies to go after the sponsors of the Berom killers. Nobody should make the mistake of thinking that Nigerian Muslims will allow this case to be swept under the carpet. We are on the tip-toes of vigilance ad infinitum.”
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