*CAN’S CAMPAIGN OF CALUMNY ON THE SHORLISTED JUSTICES
OF THE COURT OF APPEAL*

The attention of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has
been drawn to the insinuations and vituperations that trailed the shortlisting of 20
Justices-designate by the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC). It would be
noted that except it is compelled to do so, the Council has often resisted joining issues with the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) as a matter of principle.

This is because CAN has proved, times without number, its morbid hatred for
Islam and Muslims, its remarkable capacity for destructive mischief, its dexterous
use of scurrilous propaganda and its predilection for always being economical with
the truth as part of the sinister strategy of heating up the polity anytime a Muslim is at the helm of affairs.

It would be recalled that not too long ago, the Council was forced to expose the
marginalisation of Muslims in the successive Boards of the Nigerian Television
Authority (NTA) after CAN made one of its wild and mendacious allegations of
Christian marginalisation. It is actually a wicked strategy and unholy tactics to
accuse Muslims of marginalisation though Muslims are the ones being deliberately and systemically marginalised by Christians, who continue to consolidate on the colonial agenda of emasculating Muslims. However, NSCIA would not allow the serial falsehood of CAN and its propensity for character assassination of people on the basis of their religious identity to stand because truth is irrefragable.
To wit, the intransigence of CAN is playing out again in the deliberate distortion of the issues surrounding the shortlisted 20 Justices-designate. The grouse of CAN, as amplified by some hagiographers masquerading as opinion leaders, is that 13 of the 20 recently shortlisted Justices are from the North and are Muslims. Though the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, on her honour stated unequivocally that the procedure of the appointment followed “due and
usual process” and that the recommendation “was done without any preference for tribe, creed or association”, mischief makers, ethnic jingoists and religious bigots resorted to blackmail. In venting their spleen against the development, CAN especially and its apologists choose to ignore the fact that Muslims are a minority in the religious composition of the Court of Appeal. In a statement filled with bile and bigotry, the so-called religious body expressed its “feelings of sadness, disgust and anger at the insensitivity demonstrated by the FJSC in compiling the list. It seems undeniable that the recklessness displayed by the FJSC suggests a steady and gradual descend (sic) to (sic) a process of Islamising the Judiciary of Nigeria.”
The unassailable truth is that Justices of the Court of Appeal (JCAs) are 70 but the North with 19 States has 34 while the South with 17 States has 36. The South thus has more JCAs than the North. Meanwhile, out of the 36 JCAs from the South West (where Muslims are a majority), South East and South South (in both of which Muslims have considerable indigenous populations), all the JCAs are Christians except for Justice Habeeb Adewale Abiru of Lagos state and Justice Mistura Bolaji-Yusuf of Oyo state. But in the three geo-political zones of the North where Muslims are predominant, there are 34 JCAs out of which 15 are Christians. In other words, the North East has 4 Muslim JCAs and 7 Christians, the North Central has 6 Muslim JCAs and 7 Christians while the North West has 9 Muslim JCAs and 1 Christian JCA. Of the 36 from the South, only 2 are Muslims.

*The names and details of the Justices are as follows:*
*NORTH EAST*
14. A. M. Talba Adamawa North East Muslim
15. Hussein Mukhtar Bauchi North East Muslim
16. Haruna S.Tsammani Bauchi North East Christian
17. Bitrus G.Sanga Bauchi North East Christian
18. A. G. Mshelia Borno North East Christian
19. Ibrahim S. Bdliya Borno North East Christian
20. Hamma Barka Gombe North East Christian
21. Y. B. Nimpar Gombe North East Christian
22. Mohammed Danjuma
Taraba North East Christian
23. I. A. Andenyangtso Taraba North East Christian
24 Mohammed Mustapha
Borno North East Muslim
*Total North East: 8 Christians, 3 Muslims*

*NORTH WEST*
25. Ali Abubakar Gumel Jigawa North West Muslim
26. Muhammed L.
Shuaibu
Jigawa North West Muslim
27. Abubakar Dati
Yahaya
Kaduna North West Muslim
28. James S. Abiriyi Kaduna North West Christian
29. T. Y. Hassan Kano North West Muslim
30. A. M. Bayero Kano North West Muslim
31. Abubakar Sadiq
Umar
Kebbi North West Muslim
32. Jamilu Y. Tukur Katsina North West Muslim
33. A. M. Lamido Sokoto North West Muslim
34. B. B. Aliyu Zamfara North West Muslim
*Total North West: 1 Christian, 9 Muslims*

*SOUTH EAST*
35 Raphael C. Agbo Enugu South East Christian
36 U.I Ndukwe-
Anyanwu
Anambra South East Christian
37 Chidi N. Uwa Abia South East Christian
38 C. E. Nwosu-Iheme Imo South East Christian
39 T.N Orji-Abadua Imo South East Christian
40 Obande F. Ogbuinya Ebonyi South East Christian
41 Uchechukwu Onyemanam
Ebonyi South East Christian
42 Onyekachi A. Otisi Abia South East Christian
43 C.I. Jombo-Ofo Abia South East Christian
44 Paul O. Elechi Ebonyi South East Christian
45 Ugochukwu A. Ogakwu
Enugu South East Christian
*Total South East: 11 Christians, 0 Muslim*

*SOUTH-SOUTH*
46 Ignatius I. Agube Cross River South South Christian
47 Rita N. Pemi Delta South South Christian
48 Ita George Mbaba Akwa Ibom South South Christian
49 Moore A. A.
Adumein
Bayelsa South South Christian
50 O.O. Daniel-Kalio Rivers South South Christian
51 Fatima O. Akinbami Edo South South Christian
52 Biobele A. Georgewill
Rivers South South Christian
53 Frederick O. Oho Delta South South Christian
54 Joseph E. Ekanem Akwa Ibom South South Christian
55 Abimbola O. Obaseki-Adejumo
Edo South South Christian
56 Boloukuromo M.
Ugo
Bayelsa South South Christian
57 Ebiowei Tobi Delta South South Christian
*Total South South: 12 Christians, 0 Muslim*

58 Jimi O. Bada Osun South West Christian
59 Oyebisi F. Omoleye Ekiti South West Christian
60 Mojeed A. Owoade Oyo South West Christian
61 A. O. Lokolo-Sodipe Ogun South West Christian
62 Isaiah O. Akeju Ekiti South West Christian
63 Tunde O. Awotoye Osun South West Christian
64 Habeeb A. O. Abiru Lagos South West Muslim
65 Peter O. Ige Oyo South West Christian
66 O. A. Adefope-
Okojie
Ogun South West Christian
67 Mistura O. Bolaji- Oyo South West Muslim
68 E. O. Williams-
Dawudu
Lagos South West Christian
69 Joseph O. Oyewole Osun South West Christian
70 Gabriel O. Kolawole Osun South West Christian

*Total South West: 11 Christians, 2 Muslims*

*Subtotal (Southern States): 34 Christians, 2 Muslims*

*Subtotal (Northern States plus FCT): 16 Christians, 18 Muslims*

*Grand Total of all JCAs: 50 Christians (71.4%), 20 Muslims
(28.6%)*

However, the three geopolitical zones of the South have only two Muslim JCAs
while the three geopolitical zones of the North have 15 Christian JCAs! Who is
wickedly intolerant?
The cacophony of Christian marginalisation that constitutes the sing-song of CAN
is a blatant lie, a deliberate distortion and a devilish strategy of shedding crocodile
tears or crying while flogging Muslims with bare-faced oppression and systemic
repression in Nigeria. Though religion preaches love, honesty, sincerity, tolerance,
good neighbourliness and kindness, among other virtues, CAN has succeeded in creating a Nigerian version of Christianity which is anchored on morbid hatred, undisguised dishonesty, caustic insincerity, religious intolerance, perennial hostility and outright wickedness. If CAN has its way, it would annihilate Muslims from Nigeria but one billion CANs of calumny unleashed against us cannot extinguish the light of Islam here and elsewhere, even if they try it!
This is the same strategy underpinning the needless hubbub over hijab in Kwara
state and elsewhere. It is given that the right to hijab is constitutionally guaranteed.
However, to CAN, constitutionality does not matter where intolerance festers and it has resorted to toe the path of violence. Section 38, Subsection 1 of the Nigerian Constitution (as amended in 2011) states categorically thus:

*Every person shall be entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion*… *(either alone or in community with
others, and in public and or in private) to manifest and propagate his religion or belief in worship, teaching practice and observance;*............


*NSCIA*

So that is why we flood 13 out of 20 judges as Moslims

tit:
So that is why we flood 13 out of 20 judges as Moslims

Even, despite the "flooding" the statistics still showed the imbalance. Let CAN refute or disclaim the statistics and publish their own. Always shouting "Islamization" when what is going on is "Christenization".

Muslims are terrible problem shooters anywhere

It's a shame that serious issues in Nigeria are no longer constructed from the prism of merit but rather from narrow views of religion and tribe.
Who has done us this?

There's no balance in that list. APC plotting to control the judiciary and have mostly Muslim judges do their bidding.

galaxy2020:
There's no balance in that list. APC plotting to control the judiciary and have mostly Muslim judges do their bidding.

So 50 Christians and 20 Muslims is still not balanced. Na wao.