Islamic advocacy group, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has accused the management of Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State, of forcing Muslim students in the institution to attend church programmes and disrupting their Ramadan activities.
The body which made the allegations in a statement issued on Friday by its Director General, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, said it got a report that the Muslim supererogatory prayer held in Ramadan evenings known as ‘Tarawih’ has been disrupted by the institution with the students warned never to try it again.
Akintola stated that it was disturbing that in a country where freedom of religion was a fundamental right, Muslim students attending Christian institutions would be forced to attend church programmes against their wish.
“The headquarters of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has received several complaints of attempts to tactically de-Islamise and forcefully Christianise Muslim students in Adeleke University, Ede,” the statement said.
“The methods adopted by the university to achieve this objective include compelling attendance of all students, including the Muslims among them, at the university’s church programmes.
“These are signs of religious intolerance. We have said it times without number that Christians in the South weaponize education to convert Muslims. As far back as year 2019, MURIC leveled serious allegation of religious persecution against Adeleke University. We also asked the National Universities Commission (NUC) to investigate the allegation.
“We said, ‘Adeleke University is a serial violator of Allah-given fundamental rights of Muslim students. This institution forces Muslim students to attend church on Sundays. It makes it mandatory for students living in the hostel to attend church every Wednesday and Saturday.
“The practice of any other faith on campus except Christianity is banned. Muslim students must not be seen observing Salat. Hijab is a taboo in Adeleke University. Yet all these Islamophobic practices are smartly hidden from prospective students of the institution until they have paid the exorbitant school fees and can no longer withdraw,” Akintola said.
The MURIC DG also stated that he had earlier invited the NUC to take a look at the students’ handbook of this institution, especially pages 7, 49, 50, 56 and 60, noting that the pages contain rules that infringe on the religious freedom of Muslim students.
“As a regulating body, NUC has a duty to intervene in this matter as part of its oversight function on Nigeria’s universities. We are deeply worried that five years down the line, Adeleke University continues to victimize, stereotype and traumatize Muslim students.
“Though not all, other private universities in the South are also neck deep into these obnoxious and ignoble practices and MURIC has cried out against them before.
“In other climes, mere exposure of this kind of inhuman and denigrating treatment in the media is enough to spur the relevant agencies to action. Why is that of Nigeria different? What are the public affairs of those agencies doing? What is NUC waiting for?
“This issue is already in the public domain and NUC is part of this larger society. The Muslim parents who reported are taxpayers. They want this investigated,” he added.
The MURIC boss said that the organisation is aware that Christian private universities deceive Muslim students into committing themselves to their institutions by hiding their religious prejudices until the Muslim students pay school fees and are fully registered.
