The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has alleged that extraneous religious interests appear to be influencing the trial of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai.
In a press statement signed by its secretary-general, Is-haq Oloyede, the Nigerian apex Islamic body urged the government and the Judiciary to prevent individuals with sectarian agendas from weaponising public institutions against the former governor.
The council stated that it refrained from commenting on the matter, viewing the legal proceedings as a standard judicial process, and trusting the court system to uphold justice.
“The restraint was because the Council hitherto considered the prosecution as a standard judicial process, and that the Judiciary has inherent capacity to uphold justice.
“However, recent developments in the public domain have raised serious concerns that strongly suggest an extraneous involvement of an underlying religious bias against the former Governor.
“Consequently, the Council calls upon the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Judiciary to ensure that individuals with vested religious interests are strictly prevented from weaponising public institutions or the legal system to execute a sectarian agenda against him.
“Furthermore, the Council appeals to the general public to refrain from incendiary comments that could prejudice the fair trial of Mallam El-Rufai or exacerbate the security situation in our nation,” the statement read.
Olamilekan Adigun is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience in journalism embedded in uncovering human interest stories. He also prioritises accuracy and factual reportage of issues.
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