The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) group have accused the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) of barring Muslims from entering the Redemption camp along Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
In a statement released by its Director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, on Wednesday, October 26, they claimed their Muslim brothers and sisters have repeatedly been denied entry into the redemption camp to transact business in their banks and check their centers for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and other exams.
According to Prof. Akintola, the group have received numerous complaints from Nigerian Muslims who claimed to be barred from the camp, and said they have evidence to back up this claim.
MURIC also urged the examination bodies and the press to conduct an independent investigation into the case after RCCG denied the allegation.
The statement reads.
“We were shocked yesterday when we learnt that the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) denied our allegation that it was disallowing Muslims from entering its camp along Lagos-Ibadan expressway to transact business in their banks or to check their WAEC, JAMB and other examination centres.
Why does RCCG take actions that it cannot defend? The security men at the RCCG gate refused to allow those Muslims to enter based on instructions given to them by RCCG officials. What is the world turning to? A place of worship should not alienate itself from truth. They called it fake news. What could have been the purpose of cooking up such an allegation? It is not in our character. What do we stand to gain from fabricating such a story?
We expect RCCG to claim ignorance of the incidents, not to deny their occurrence. It is understandable if the guards at the gate did it out of overzealousness. It also makes sense if RCCG officials claim that it was due to security concerns and promise to ensure that it does not happen again.
But this total denial is most abominable. RCCG’s denial is an affirmation of recalcitrance. It shows no sense of remorse. They will do it again and again and that is why MURIC will pursue the matter to a logical conclusion until RCCG owns up or it is sanctioned for religious apartheid.
We, therefore, call on the examination bodies in the country (WAEC, NECO, JAMB, etc.) to set up their own independent investigations. The examination bodies must take responsibility, otherwise, they will become accomplices.
Nigerians must be told if WAEC or JAMB examination is for Christian candidates only. We also appeal to the press to conduct fact-checks on the story. MURIC is ready to supply all available evidence to aid the investigation. RCCG lied. We have evidence.
Those Muslim victims are still alive and kicking. We will make our evidence of discrimination against Muslim candidates and bank customers available whenever the safety of the victims can be guaranteed.”
However, the spokesman of RCCG, Pastor Olaitan Olubiyi, maintained that the allegation is false, because RCCG camp is accessible to everyone who has legitimate businesses to conduct within the premises.
“All I can tell you is that it is fake news. Those behind it may have their own script they are playing out but I can assure you that the Redemption City of God remains accessible to anyone who has a legal and genuine purpose for seeking access,” the church spokesperson had said.
