In a statement issued on Wednesday by its executive director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, MURIC declared that what the Alaafin called his exclusive right was only a privilege, but now being abused by traditional rulers in Yorubaland.

MURIC challenged the king to come up with any legal backing to the effect that he could appoint the Chief Imam.

The statement reads:

“The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade claimed yesterday that he had the exclusive right to appoint the Chief Imam of Oyo town. The claim was contained in a statement issued by the Alaafin’s Director of Media and Publicity, Bode Durojaiye, on Monday, September 15, 2025 (https://dailyobserver.ng/alaafin-declares-exclusive-right-to-appoint-oyo-chief-imam/).

“We reject this statement. It is false, baseless and without any legal backing. What the Alaafin called his exclusive right is a baseless privilege now being abused by traditional rulers in Yorubaland. Alaafin is being economical with the truth.

“We challenge the Alaafin to produce the legal instrument that empowers him to appoint the Chief Imam for Oyo Muslim Community.

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“Alaafin’s claim is illogical, irrational and laughable. If he has the power to appoint the Chief Imam, does he also have the power to appoint the bishop of Oyo? Now, if he has no power to appoint the bishop, he cannot claim the power to appoint the Chief Imam.

“If he is relying on tradition, there is a difference between tradition and what the law says. By the way, what kind of tradition enslaves Muslims but gives Christians freedom. We reject a tradition that puts Muslims in chains. Muslims are not slaves. The king should respect himself and know his limits so that he can be adequately respected. Nigeria is not a monarchy. It is a democracy.

“Privileges enjoyed by past kings do not constitute any right by any stretch of imagination. The tradition in the past was to trek to Makkah on foot. That has been abandoned. The incumbent Alaafin should stop clinging to a comatose practice.

“Alaafin’s pedigree has already deprived him of any right to determine the destiny of Muslims of Oyo town. As a pastor he has no moral right to dictate who should lead the Muslims in Oyo. He himself should know this. We demand that he respects the sensibilities of his Muslim subjects. We are waiting to see how far he is committed to the pursuit of peace, justice and fairness in his domain.

“We reject an entitlement mentality based on sheer feudalistic sentiment, superiority complex and undue class distinction. Muslims are born free and they have the right to appoint their own leaders without external interference. We reject any system that seeks to enslave Muslims by imposing an Imam on them. It is totally wrong.

“The Alaafin reportedly said, ‘It should be noted that only His Imperial Majesty has the exclusive preserve to appoint a new Chief Imam for the town’. This statement smirks of over-bloated colonial mentality and empty feudal overlordship. It is provocative, preposterous and detestable. Under the law, it is ultra vires, null and void.

“Our position is that the Alaafin can bless anyone picked by the Muslim Community of Oyo town as the Chief Imam. This is in recognition of the fact that he is the king of the town. We expect the Muslim Community of Oyo town to consult the Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN), the umbrella organization of all Islamic associations of Yorubaland.

“The Muslim Community should present only one candidate, not two, not three, to the Alaafin and back its choice with an official letter in which the new Imam’s name is conspicuously written to avoid any chance of manipulation. The Alaafin’s blessing of their choice is not mandatory. It is a euphemism for passing information.

“To the Alaafin, Kabiyesi, Your Imperial Majesty, you are the king over the whole of Oyo. You are king over the Muslims, the Christians and the traditionalists. Each group chooses its own leader. No law gives you exclusive right to choose the Chief Imam. Otherwise, show us evidence that you picked the bishop. If you cannot pick the bishop, how can you pick the Imam? Stop impugning our dignity. Respect begets respect.”

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The governor, while speaking after an inspection of the attacked centre, said that he had ordered that the main road leading to the facility be immediately graded.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, indicated that Governor Makinde also promised to install security cameras in the facility and link the same with the security situation room in the state.

The governor said: “This is shocking and, unfortunately, we lost a soldier and an Amotekun operative. Another person is on the danger list at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, as we speak.

“In the main, the investigation is still on-going and we cannot say precisely whether this is an isolated event or the beginning of a wider issue that we have to deal with. But whatever the case is, we have made an assessment and taken some immediate decisions.

“We have asked that the main road to this facility  be graded immediately. We will position security cameras here and link it back to our security situation room. It is not just only for this facility but for other correctional facilities in the state.

“We are also making a list of critical state assets that we need to monitor and I have also asked that the entrance and exit points into the state be monitored. We still have almost 300 criminals that are on the loose in the state. So, efforts will still continue to try and apprehend the criminals and bring them back here.

“About the high-profile suspects here, people are very quick to start talking about conspiracy theories. What I can say is that the investigation is still on. Yes, there were high profile criminals that were held in this facility.

“Again, I will appeal that our people should be calm. We have challenges around the country – banditry, insurgency and terrorism. And we can only deal with those issues when we have the people in alignment with what the leadership is trying to do.

“So, they should please believe that their leaders will tell them the exact situation of things at the appropriate time.”

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