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            It appears the last has not been heard of the Kukah controversy as the Nigerian Islamic human rights body, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has called on Bishop Mathew Hasan Kukah to recuse himself from the General Abdul Salaam-led Peace Committee.     The call was made by the director of MURIC, Professor Ishaq Akintola, in a press statement circulated on Wednesday, 30 th  December, 2020.   “It will be recalled that Bishop Mathew Hasan Kukah of the Sokoto Diocese indirectly called for a coup and referred to Islam as a violent religion about four days ago. We strongly believe that those pronouncements are inconsistent with the bishop’s status particularly as the secretary of Nigeria’s Peace Committee.     “How did such a belligerent combatant emerge as the secretary of Nigeria’s Peace Committee? What good can come from a man who is filled with hate and bias for a large section of the country? He calls for a coup against a democratically elected government. He stigmatized I

  President Muhammadu Buhari has saluted the sacrifices of the doctors who were killed by COVID-19 in parts of the country. In a statement on Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, President Buhari gave an assurance that the welfare of doctors and other health workers would be a priority for his administration. He also sent his condolence to the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) over the death of the doctors due to the pandemic, noting that the sacrifices made by the frontline medical workers were appreciated. “The death of our frontline health workers in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic is particularly sad because these professionals risk their own lives in order to save others,” the President was quoted as saying. He added, “Our health workers are making maximum sacrifices for the country in line with their humanitarian calling, and this administration will leave no stone unturned in order to ensure their needs are met. According to the

  Shaykh Dr. Justice Ahmad Lemu, a foremost Islamic scholar and leader, died yesterday, Thursday, 24 th  December, 2020. He was 91.     In a statement issued on Friday, 25 th  December, 2020, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) described him as a great scholar and visionary leader. The statement was signed by the director of MURIC, Professor Ishaq Akintola.   “We have every reason to mourn the demise of Shaykh Lemu. He was a great scholar and visionary leader. He was kind, transparent and dedicated to the cause of Islam. He was also a great teacher and a role model. Shaykh Lemu was the founder of the popular Islamic Education Trust (IET) and the Da’wah Coordination Council of Nigeria.     “His carreer as a versatile Islamic scholar saw him serving as Shar’ia judge at the Court of Appeals in Sokoto and Niger states (1976 – 1977) and later as Chief Shar’ia Judge at the Court of Appeals in Niger State (1976 – 1991). He had also contributed his quota to nation building. He was a member of th

The Federal Government is to commence a massive renovation of the 63-year old University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan to ensure its total turnaround and better care for its teeming patients UCH’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Toye Akinrinola, said the renovation would start from the last week in December and would be handled through the office of presidency. He added that the renovation would be carried out in phases, starting with the South-East and Central blocks of the hospital. According to him, even the renovation of the critical areas in the hospital would continue till February, 2021; patients would be moved to other wards to ensure the continuation of care even while others would be attended to on out-patient basis. He declared that the renovation would also include the hospital’s old sewage system. “Its essence is to give UCH the required facelift; to upgrade the infrastructure and also to enhance services. Some of the facilities in the hospital are more than 63 years old an

  Christmas celebration has become rampant among the Christians. Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world.   But some Churches refuse to be celebrating Christmas and below are the 6 Churches that don't celebrate Christmas. 1- JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES This religious organization is one of the biggest groups of Christmas-Shunners. Once upon a time, Jehovah's Witness used to observe Christmas. This was until 1928, after further study by one official. The official found that this is based on "false religious beliefs or activities". Deseret news reports that this is explained in a 1993 book, "Jehovah's Witness-Proclaimers of God's Kingdom". 2- SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH Just like Jehovah's Witness, this Church is also against Christmas celebration. A publication from them reads: "We do not celebrate

         The 344 boys who were kidnapped from Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State on Friday, 11 th  December, 2020, returned yesterday, Friday, 18 th  December, 2020, exactly one week after their abduction. Meanwhile the Nigerian Islamic human rights organization, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has given kudos to President Muhammadu Buhari for the successful rescue of the Kankara school boys.             MURIC gave the commendation in a press statement circulated to pressmen on Saturday, 19 th  December, 2020. The statement was signed by the group’s director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.     According to the statement,  “We received news of the return of the kidnapped Kankasa boys with immense joy. The successful rescue operation adds another feather to President Muhammadu Buhari’s hat. We note with every seriousness that the early return of the boys was made possible by Mr. President’s prompt action.     “PMB had issued orders to the security agencies for a joint r

  Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) has launched a new set of COVID-19 test kits that can produce results in 57 minutes. The new kits which are real-time polymerase chain reaction ( RT-qPCR ) for the detection of COVID-19, was designed by Joseph Shaibu, a molecular virologist at NIMR. Professor Babatunde Salako, director general of the institute, unveiled the new kits during the ongoing NIMR retreat in Lagos. He said the new products were specifically designed for PCR laboratories across the country. “We decided to come up with this rt-qPCR testing kits that will work with the conventional PCR laboratories we have across the country,” he said. “Unlike the SIMA test kits earlier produced by the institute which work with only isothermal machine. The Isothermal machine which can be moved around as a point of care is not readily available now for purchase so we decided to come up with this.” Shaibu, who designed the product, said it is 80 percent cheaper than the ones currently

      The United States recently accused Nigeria of violating religious rights. Consequently, it placed the country on religious freedom blacklist. The Christian Association of Nigeria has backed the US claim of religious persecution. Although the Federal Government (FG) has denied the allegation, the Nigerian Islamic human rights body, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has waded into the controversy.   In a statement issued on Monday, 14 th  December, 2020 by its director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, MURIC described President Trump as a man who is too eager to swallow any lie against any Muslim leader because of his gymnastic pursuit of a Christian crusade. The group argued that contrary to the claim that Christians are being persecuted in the country, it is actually the Muslims who are at the receiving end of religious discrimination.   The statement reads:   “We are nonplussed by the recent allegation of violation of religious rights made by the United States against Nigeria. This is

  Oladipo Ogunbode, assistant director, department of prevention programmes and management, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), says it is surprising that health workers still doubt the existence of COVID-19. According to NAN, Ogunbode stated this on Thursday in Abuja while speaking at a conference to mark the 2020 health week, themed: “Outbreak of Disease in Nigeria: Are We Ready?” Ogunbode said it is hard to understand how health workers who had come in contact with victims of COVID-19 in the line of duty, still doubted the existence of the virus. “Health workers should create awareness on COVID-19, but many of them still doubt its existence. We must work hard to remove such doubt,” he said. “It’s amazing and inexplicable for medics to doubt the fact that the pandemic was a reality. To handle the doubt, there is the need to increase the level of awareness on the virus. “As health workers, there is no one of us that does not know at least one person that has not been confirmed

          Following reports worldwide indicating a second coming of the dreaded Corona virus, the Nigerian Islamic human rights organization, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has called on the Federal Government of Nigeria (FG) to restrict international flights immediately.     This was contained in a press statement issued by the director of MURIC, Professor Ishaq Akintola, on Thursday, 3 rd  December, 2020.     The statement reads:   “The second coming of COVID-19 is definitely more severe. According to Wikipedia, the deadly virus has killed 1.49 million people globally. 64.2 million have been infected while 41.2 million have recovered from the pandemic. As at yesterday, Wednesday, 2 nd  December, 2020, the United States topped the list of the toll with 279,049 deaths and 14.2 million cases. At least 200,000 people are infected daily in the US while daily new deaths are close to 3,000. Brazil has lost 174,000 people so far while India lost 138,000 to the pandemic (www.worldometers.