A storm is building over the absence of a place
of worship for Muslims at the Rivers State
University.
In the Rivers State University of Science and
Technology, for hundreds of Muslim students
freedom of worship and lawful assembly have
taken on the character of an illusion.
There is mounting disquiet in the university
community. The Muslim community has
accused the management of religious
intolerance, following the demolition of a
makeshift Mosque where some students and
staff of the university worship. Daily Trust
investigations revealed that the Mosque was
acquired about eleven years ago, but there was
no structure built there. The worshippers used
to observe their prayers on the floor.
However, eight years later when the population
of the students increased, the local chapter of
the Muslim students society of Nigeria put
resources together to erect a tent on the site.
“But the management of the university used
security operatives to remove the tent’’ said
Sulaiman Abdul Awwal, an executive member
of the Muslim students society of Nigeria,
MSSN. According to him “thereafter, notable
people from the state gave us money to
construct another makeshift shelter. But we
decided to lay a few blocks to separate the site
from other facilities.” After the structure was
raised, the management was said to have told
the students that the Mosque was built on an
unapproved site. “This prompted us to apply
for a piece of land to build the Mosque,”
Sulaiman added.
Daily Trust obtained a series of letters written
to the management of the university to
allocate a permanent site for the construction
of a new Mosque, but their efforts met a brick
wall as none of the letters were acknowledged
by the university authority. When the structure
was renovated on December 3 2011 to make
the Mosque more conducive for worshippers,
the university authority, through its director of
works, directed that the work should stop. The
works director argued that the Mosque was the
only illegal structure that was erected in the
campus, and threatened to demolish the
structures two days after. A threat he carried
out to the letter. However, the works director
on January 25, 2012, brought in a bulldozer to
flatten the structures. Despite pleas by the
students to the demolition team, their
properties were thrown away as the building
was reduced to a rubble. Since then hundreds
of Muslims in the university have had no place
of worship.
Daily Trust investigation revealed that Christian
faithful such as the Anglican, Roman Catholic
and Pentecostal worshippers have befitting
places of worship in the university campus,
which was constructed by the university
authority. There were a series of letters written
by the Students and addressed to the National
Universities Commission, Rivers State
governor, the office of the Vice Chancellor, as
well as the Supreme Council for Islamic affairs
to intervene in the matter. Despite all these
letters no action was taken to remedy the
situation. One of the letters addressed to the
National Universities Commission and dated
7th March, 2012, reads in part “On behalf of
the Muslim students, Muslim community and
other affected and concerned Muslims of
Rivers State University of science and
technology, we wish to express our grievances
over the manifest intolerance and continued
discrimination against Muslims, which resulted
in the demolition of the only Mosque of the
University of Science and Technology, and the
eventual arrest and detention of law abiding
Muslim students by the authority of University
of science and technology.”
“It is worthy that we bring to your attention
that since the year 2000, the Muslim students
and Muslim community of the school, as well
as some Muslim organizations in the state,
have made repeated demands, and numerous
letters have been written to the school
authority for the allocation of a parcel of land
for the erection of Mosque in the School
premises, as enjoyed by other organization
especially our Christians counterparts of
different denominations.”
Another letter dated 11th April 2008 and
addressed to the Rivers State Governor
Chibuike Amaechi on the same issue, did not
yield any result. The letter signed by the
Muslim Students Society of Nigeria reminded
the Governor of the need to provide an all
round development and transformation of
youths into individuals that are reformed, and
positioned to contribute positively to the
growth of the society.
Part of the letter reads “the development
includes the integrate areas of academics,
social and religion. On the area of religious
development the authorities of the University
have done well in providing and aiding in the
provision of mega structures for the Christian
students. It is however sad to note that the
Muslim faithful have not been catered for in
this regard.”
“We have been observing our religious rights
from a makeshift tent, susceptible to harsh
climatic conditions, which itself is constantly
under demolition threats from the school
authority as of the case of 19th March 2005
when the tent was demolished and our
properties carted away.”
The student’s appeal to the governor to come
to their aid and ensured that a befitting
Mosque was constructed for them as was done
for their Christian counterparts, did not
receive any positive response. The appeal did
not see the light of the day as the Students
were again ignored.
In pressing further their demand for equal
treatment, the students sent several delegates
to well meaning Nigerians, prominent among
them were Jamaatu Nasril Islam under the
leadership of late Sultan M. Maccido, who sent
the Emir of Illorin, Alhaji Sulu Gambari to
plead and request on behalf of the Muslim
community in RSUST, that the school should
consider the interest of the Muslim students,
by allocating land for them for the building of
their Mosque, which also failed.
The recent in the illegal acts of the authorities
of the University occurred on 25th of January
2012. While the Muslim students were
observing their morning prayers, some officials
of the university came and forced their way
into the makeshift Mosque that was erected by
the Muslim students, and in a gestapo manner
these officials started demolishing the
structures. The makeshift structure was
brought down and some Muslim Students were
arrested and handed over to the Police.
Ustaz Oloyede, the Imam of Muslim
Community and chairman of welfare, League of
Imams and scholars, Rivers State chapter told
Daily Trust in Port Harcourt that the Muslim
community in the State have explored all the
avenue for dialogue to ensure that the Muslims
in the university are carried along in the
scheme of things. He said that having failed to
achieve that through dialogue, the Students
decided to seek legal action in the matter.
A legal action was instituted by the Students
against the university authorities in the Federal
High Court Port Harcourt, presided over by
Justice Lambo Akanbi. The applicants which
included the ninety eight Muslim students in
the university in a suit no FHC/PHC/
CS150/2012 asked the court to declare that
the failure and the refusal of the respondent
[university authority] to allocate a portion of
land to the applicants for a construction of
Mosque to be used as a prayer house amounts
to a flagrant breach of the applicants
fundamental rights to freedom of thought and
religion.
The applicant therefore sought the order of the
court to compel the respondent to allocate a
parcel of land within the university premises
suitable for the construction of a Mosque
“required for the congregation of the
applicants and the observance of their daily
worship.”
The court thereafter granted the applicants
prayer and in a Judgment delivered on 19th
February 2013 by Justice Akanbe ordered the
university authority to allocate a piece of land
to the Muslim students for the purpose of
construction of their Mosque. Since the
judgment was delivered the university
authority has refused to comply with the
judgment, as the students are yet to secure a
place of worship in the university.
Counsel to the Students Oloriegbe and co. in a
letter dated 7th may 2013 and addressed to
the Vice Chancellor of the university reminded
the university authority of the need for
immediate compliance with the 19th February
Federal High Court judgment, which directed
them to provide a parcel of land suitable for
the construction of a Mosque for the Muslim
students of the University. The counsel in the
letter stated “we have noticed with very much
concern, the continued disobedience of your
person and office to the clear mandatory and
validly given orders of the Federal High Court
sitting in Port Harcourt in the above matter,
and which disrespect obviously persist even as
we have patiently waited and observed the
cynical disposition of the school authority to
the said judgment, three months on.”
While waiting for the university authority to
comply with the court order, the counsel said
“Please be informed that we have advised more
patience on the part of our clients and assured
them that in the event of your continued
failure to comply accordingly, we shall be left
with the inevitable option of returning to the
court in furtherance of our complaint of your
continued belligerence, while the famous form
48 and 49 shall be employed to compel your
good self and all persons defying the
authority.”
Desmond Wosu, the university’s Public
Relations Officer, ignored several telephone
calls made by our reporter to get the reaction
of the university on the issue. He did not also
reply to three separate text messages sent to
him concerning the matter.