The Director-General (D.G) of the Centre for Justice on Religion and Ethnicity in Nigeria, Kallamu Musa Ali Dikwa, has raised an alarm how former President Goodluck Jonathan and current President Muhammadu Buhari ignored his petitions on purported link of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, and some others with terrorists and religious extremists in Nigeria. Kallamu Musa Ali Dikwa, a clergy man from Dikwa Local Government Area, Borno State, said he had petitioned the Nigerian government three times on alleged links of Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, and some others in the north with terrorism, religious extremism and hate speech, but the federal government shunned his petitions.
The clergy man, according to SaharaReporters, had disclosed that he wrote the first letter to the federal government of Nigerian in 2012 in the President Goodluck Jonathan administration, adding that the Nigerian government invited him to stand as a witness in the trial, which was struck out thereafter.
Dikwa had revealed to SaharaReporters that he wrote the second petition in 2018, that was in the first tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari, noting that the government invited him to recall the petition and attached VCDs evidence, warning him never to write such again.
The Centre for Justice on Religion and Ethnicity in Nigeria D.G. had further disclosed that he sent the third petition to the Nigerian government in 2020 but the government never acknowledged the letter.
Kallamu Musa Ali Dikwa listed other collaborators with Dr. Pantami in the allegations of supporting religious extremism and terrorist groups in Nigeria included Sanusi Kalil, Sani Yahaya Jingir, Abubakar Gero and Kabiru Gombe.
Dikwa further revealed that imposition of the Nigerian government that citizens must link their mobile phone numbers to National Identification Numbers (NIN) is allegedly a plot to provide information for bandits, killer-herdsmen, and Boko Haram terrorists to track and kill citizens after the exit of the current leaders from government.
The D.G of the Centre for Justice on Religion and Ethnicity in Nigeria, Ali Dikwa, was cited to have narrated: “Since the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, I have written letters to the security agencies and President of the Senate, concerning the activities of Sheikh Isa Ali Pantami, the present Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Sanusi Kalil, Sani Yahaya Jingir, Abubakar Gero and Kabiru Gombe on how they are terrorizing Nigerians and doing the same activities of Boko Haram terrorists in the name of working for President Muhammadu Buhari to take over power and I submitted the letters with VCDs showing the activities of the aforementioned people.
“The former Senate President forwarded (them) to the Chairman, Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence, Senator Mohammed Magoro. Senator Magoro, Vice Chairman of the committee, Senator Sale Maina, and the committee secretary, Umaru, invited us and we met.
“They agreed to take the matter to court, and I was the one who was going to stand for the case, and I had agreed to do so but till date, nobody has invited us again.
“The reply to our letters from the two chambers of the National Assembly dated: letter from the Senate President was 29/02/2012 and the other one was from Chairman, House Committee on Public Petitions, Hon. C. I. D. Maduabum (sic).”
The clergy had observed that the United States of America was right to include Dr. Pantami on the watchlist of terrorists in Nigeria; adding that the Communication Minister was giving meaningless excuses for self-defence.
Kallamu Musa Ali Dikwa maintained: “But recently, it was reported that the US had put the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy on the watchlist of terrorists in Nigeria. Although the minister came out and gave Nigerians meaningless excuses, he and his friends, including Mr. President, knew within themselves that what the US said was very true.
“But we are now hearing that the Buhari government will use some of the Christians amongst the executive council such as Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Minister of Foreign Affairs to discuss with the US authorities to cover up the secret and change the story. According to them, Yemi Osinbajo is a very close friend of the minister, Isa Ali Pantami.”
The clergy from Borno State stated that the minister and his associates were allegedly inciting Muslims to kill Christians in Plateau State.
It was highlighted that a section of the letter shared with SaharaReporters read: “…In the same vein, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami preached to his followers in Bauchi that Governor David Jonah Jang had urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in Bauchi State because of Kalakato and Boko Haram. According to Isa Pantami, all the killings of Muslims in Plateau State were perpetrated by Governor Jonah David Jang and Gbong-Gwom Jos-Da Jacob Gyang Buba.
“Dr. Pantami said, according to the Daily Trust newspaper as captured in the column of the current minister of education, Malam Adamu Adamu, out of three thousand people killed in Plateau State, two thousand eight hundred are Muslims.
“According to Pantami, Governor Jang and Bauchi State CAN (Christian Association of Nigeria) Chairman, and some Christians leaders held a meeting in Lagos with journalists at Sheraton Hotel to plan how to kill Muslims in this country. Pantami said when the last 2010 crisis started, the Sultan of Sokoto called Governor Jonah Jang on the phone over 20 times and Jang refused to answer the Sultan’s calls.
“Dr Ali Pantami said all Muslims must buy weapons to fight Christians in this country. It is regrettable that as President, you could appoint this kind of extremist, and fanatical Islamic scholar, Dr Isa Ibrahim Ali Pantami, as Director-General of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), who hates and pathologically dislikes Christians and any non-Muslim person. Mr. President, you also reappointed him as the Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2019.
“It should be noted that the above-mentioned names, i.e Islamic clerics such as Sheikh Sani Jingir, Sheikh Abubakar Gero, Sheikh Sanusi Khalid and Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami only promote hate speeches and always motivate and incite their adherents to kill Christians and this is well known to security agencies.
“Unfortunately, and sadly enough, the appropriate security agencies have failed to act decisively. We submitted copies of CD plates of their teachings and recommended that they should be arrested and prosecuted accordingly.”
Ali Dikwa had subsequently admonished Nigerian citizens should be cautious in linking their mobile phone numbers to the National Identification Numbers as imposed by the Nigerian government; alleging that the NIN link would enable bandits, killer-herdsmen, and Boko Haram terrorists to prey on Nigerian citizens, tapping their information after the current leaders have left government.
Ali Dikwa further alleged: “They are also looking to change the names of these terrorist groups that they are using now to a different name.
“Federal government knows where these terrorists are staying, they meet with leaders of these terrorist groups anywhere and anytime. Dr Ahmed Gumi and Prof. Umar Yusuf meet with the North-West terrorist group, so-called bandits and kidnappers and give feedback to the federal government on what the bandits and kidnappers want from the government. So, why is it that the government has continued to deceive Nigerians?
“Also, members of the DSS (Department of State Services) and military are the ones always escorting members of a non-governmental organization, called Kalthum Foundation, to receive kidnapped victims from ISWAP/Boko Haram terrorists after the families have paid millions of naira in ransom.”