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MURIC Condemns Plateau Attacks, Says Burning Of Churches, Mosques Barbaric
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has condemned the attacks in Plateau State, particularly the recent killings in Kwahaslalek village, Mangu Local Government of the state.
MURIC also condemned the attacks on worship centres in Plateau, labelling the burning of churches and mosques as “barbaric and satanic.”
This is contained in a statement issued yesterday by the Executive Director of MURIC, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, who also urged residents of the village and the state at large, to coexist peacefully.
The statement partly read, “MURIC denounces this wanton destruction of lives and properties, particularly houses of worship which should be respected. It is barbaric and satanic. We must learn to coexist peacefully.”
MURIC stated that two churches and six mosques had been burnt, while eight persons were lost.
It stated, “The death toll in the raging crisis in Mangu, Plateau State, has reached eight. Six mosques and two churches have been burnt. The burnt mosques include a central mosque, the Anguwan Dawo Jumat Mosque.
“An Islamic school, Audi Islamiyyah, was also burnt. The two burnt churches, Deden and Assemblies of God’s Church are located in Sabon-Kasuwa in the Dercom and Alogom areas of Mangu. Both belong to COCIN.”
The fresh attack in Mangu LG by gunmen reportedly claimed more than 30 lives in the early hours of Wednesday.
It was gathered that the victims, who were mostly women and children, had scampered for safety in the house of a community leader in the area last Tuesday night following earlier unrest during the day in Mangu town.
This prompted the Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, to declare a 24-hour curfew on the Mangu LGA on Tuesday.
He said the decision followed the deteriorating security situation in the area after unrest led to the burning of several houses, including churches and mosques.
However, the Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria in Mangu LG, Timothy Daluk, had accused the Nigerian military of supervising the killings of Christians and destruction of property in the state.
In a viral video, Daluk said, “I am here to report the situation happening in Mangu Local Government for the whole world to understand. What is happening in Mangu at this particular point in time, the military are the ones sending our people away for the militia to burn their houses.
“At this particular point in time, they have sent every Christian away from the new market, thereby leaving the Muslims to come and burn their houses.”
Reacting to the accusation, the Defence Headquarters, yesterday, said it would request to meet Daluk over his recent comment against the military.
However, MURIC noted that despite having both Muslims and Christians living together in the state, it’s the “Northern Muslims who are always targeted for killing.”
It said, “We note with serious concern the consistent consistency of attacks on Northern Muslims who live in Plateau State. We find it noteworthy that although Southern Christians of the South East and South West also reside in large numbers in Plateau State, it is the Northern Muslims who are always targeted for killing. The others have never been attacked.
“The fact that all the eight people who died in the riot are Muslims points to where the aggression first started as well as the targets of the attacks. Reports gathered from the Plateau State branch of MURIC and that of the Jamaat Nasril Islam (JNI) state that the crisis started on Tuesday, 23rd January 2024.”
The group further accused the security operatives under ‘Operation Rainbow’ of being partisan in protecting the lives of Muslims.
MURIC stated that the Muslims weren’t protected, thereby making it possible for the “Christian youths to burn as many as eight mosques while only two churches were affected.”
The Islamic group urged the security operatives to be fair in discharging their duties, as partisanship could make the “crisis escalate beyond imagination.”
MURIC stated, “The reports also affirm that the security outfits in ‘Operation Rainbow’ are partisan as there are complaints that Muslims and their mosques did not receive adequate protection, a situation which made it possible for the Christian youths to burn as many as eight mosques while only two churches were affected.
“We charge the security agents to be fair to all. Partisanship in the security agencies can cause irreparable damage. It can also allow the crisis to escalate beyond imagination.”
MURIC urged residents of Mangu LG and the state in general, to stop the incessant attacks on each other, and cooperate with security agents to curb the killings bedevilling the state.
“We appeal to the people of Mangu in particular and Plateau State in general to stop all forms of hostility. They should cooperate with law enforcement agencies. The name of Plateau State has become synonymous with killing and destruction.
“This has started to scare prospective investors, tourists, and visitors away from the state. This is bound to affect the state’s economy,” the statement read.
The Nigeria Immigration Service has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this yesterday while inspecting Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
He said the centralised production system aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for better service delivery.
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed N2.225 trillion as federation revenue for the month of August 2025, the highest ever allocation to the three tiers of government and other statutory recipients.
This marks the second consecutive month that FAAC disbursements have crossed the N2 trillion mark.
The revenue, shared at the August 2025 FAAC meeting in Abuja, was buoyed by increases in oil and gas royalty, value-added tax (VAT), and common external tariff (CET) levies, according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.
Out of the N2.225 trillion total distributable revenue, FAAC said N1,478.593 trillion came from statutory revenue, N672.903 billion from VAT, N32.338 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and N41.284 billion from Exchange Difference.
The communiqué revealed that gross federation revenue for the month stood at N3.635 trillion. From this amount, N124.839 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N1,285.845 trillion was set aside for transfers, interventions, refunds, and savings.
From the statutory revenue of N1.478 trillion, the Federal Government received N684.462 billion, State Governments received N347.168 billion, and Local Government Councils received N267.652 billion. A further N179.311 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) went to oil-producing states as derivation revenue.
From the distributable VAT revenue of N672.903 billion, the Federal Government received N100.935 billion, the states received N336.452 billion, while the local governments got N235.516 billion.
Of the N32.338 billion shared from EMTL, the Federal Government received N4.851 billion, the States received N16.169 billion, and the Local Governments received N11.318 billion.
From the N41.284 billion exchange difference, the Federal Government received N19.799 billion, the states received N10.042 billion, and the local governments received N7.742 billion, while N3.701 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the oil-producing states as derivation.
The Governing Council of Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, has decried the inadequate power supply and poor state of infrastructural facilities and equipment at the institution.
The Council also appealed to the government, including Non-Governmental Organisations, agencies, as well as well-meaning Rivers people to intervene to restore and sustain the laudable gesture, dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the polytechnic.
The Chairman of the newly inaugurated Council, Professor Friday B. Sigalo, made this appeal during a tour of facilities at the Polytechnic, recently.
Accompanied by members of the team, Prof Sigalo emphasised the position of technology, technical and vocational education in sustainable development.
He noted that with the prospects on ground, and the programmes and activities undertaken in the polytechnic, there is no doubt that the institution would add values to the educational system in our society and foster the desired development, if the existing challenges are jointly tackled.
This was contained in a statement signed by Deputy Registrar, Public Relations, Kenpoly, Innocent Ogbonda-Nwanwu, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.
The chairman who restated the intention of his team of technocrats to ensure that KenPoly enjoys desirable face-lift, said the Council would deliver on its core mandates, accordingly.
Earlier, the Rector, KenPoly Engr. Dr. Ledum S. Gwarah, commended the appointment of Professor Friday B. Sigalo as Chairman of the KenPoly Governing Council.
He described him and his team as seasoned technocrats and expressed confidence in their ability to succeed.
The Rector pledged the management’s support to the Council to ensure that KenPoly resumes its rightful place in the comity of polytechnics in the country.
Facilities visited by the Governing Council include KenPoly workshops, laboratories, skills acquisition centre, library, hostels and medical centre.
Chinedu Wosu
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