In the spirit of Eid Mubarak, Professor Ishaq Akintola, Executive Director of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has urged the officers of the Ogudu Police Station to avoid associating with land grabbers.
According to a press release shared with this medium, it states: "The Imam and other officials from the Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP) were recently arrested by the police at a construction site in Ogudu, Lagos State. The police acted on claims from a land grabber who asserted that he owned the land.
Although all have been released following the intervention of the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Area 2 Command, they have been instructed to report back on Thursday, June 5, 2025—a day before Salah.
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) condemns this blatant act of impunity. The land grabber effectively took control of the police operation, behaving like a slave master on a Caribbean sugarcane plantation. No civilian has the right to dictate actions to the police.
We demand full respect for the Allah-given fundamental human rights of the Imam and the members of the AMP. They have been using the site as a Muslim prayer ground for years and possess all necessary documentation for the land on which they are constructing an Islamic center. Their arrest was unlawful, illegal, illegitimate, and unconstitutional.
We advise the police in Ogudu to postpone any meetings regarding this matter until after Salah, as it affects a Muslim group rather than an individual and occurs during a sacred period.
This police action could be viewed as a provocation by the members of AMP and the broader Muslim community in Nigeria. It may also be seen as a deliberate attempt to create discomfort for Muslims during this sacred time, so we urge the police to handle the situation with care.
AMP is a well-known organization among Muslims, and any action affecting them impacts all Muslims in the country. It is insensitive for the police to arrest Muslim leaders during a Muslim festival, particularly in the absence of evidence of any wrongdoing. Such actions are also unwise.
We appreciate the professional manner in which the AIG of Area 2 Command facilitated the release of the Muslim leaders from police custody.
However, we kindly request a postponement of the meeting scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, June 5, 2025, until after Salah, as some of the leaders need to be with their families during this time
