Ibadan – The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to pardon the 54 soldiers serving a 10-year jail term for refusing to fight Boko Haram insurgents.
The organisation urged the president to pardon the soldiers in the spirit of the Ramadan.
The appeal is contained in a statement issued on Monday by MURIC’s Director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola.
It would be recalled that the 54 soldiers were sentenced to death in December, 2014 for refusing to take part in the fight against the insurgents.
The sentence was, however, commuted to 10 years imprisonment in December, 2015.
The statement quoted Prophet Muhammad as saying: “The beginning of Ramadan is a blessing, it’s middle is forgiveness while its end is freedom.’’
“We appeal to the president to allow these three qualities of Ramadan (blessing, forgiveness and freedom) to reflect fully in his actions and utterances during this Ramadan, particularly regarding the case of the 54 soldiers.
“There is no gainsaying that Nigeria is in dire need of prayers today.
“ We are plagued with the problems of insecurity, insurgency, militancy and separatist propensities.
“Our leaders always ask religious leaders to pray for the country. Our Imams are praying. Our pastors are also praying.
“But the best assurance that Allah will answer this country’s prayers is for our leaders to show remorse and seek Allah’s forgiveness for our collective trespasses,’’ the statement said. (NAN)