THE expulsion of 185 persons from Taraba State has stirred a disagreement between the police and the Taraba Moslem Organisation (TMO).The leadership of the organisation, through its secretary general, Alhaji Sani Sule Saleh, condemned the action of the police, which led to the expulsion of 185 persons, who he said, arrived in the state in three different trucks from Kano, Jigawa and Sokoto states in search of menial jobs.Flanked by the entire leadership of the organisation in the state, Saleh told journalists during a press briefing in Jalingo, the state capital,at the weekend that the time had come when Muslims in the state must be treated like their counterparts in other religions.He said: 'We want to state with all due emphasis that when Muslims keep silent in the face of obvious provocation, it is not because they are ignorant of their rights as citizens, but because they want peace'.But the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ibiang Mbasekei, said that those expelled were not only Muslims but they included members of other religions.The trucks, which were intercepted at the entrance of the state capital, were said to have been conveying passengers and goods to the state capital from the North-Western part of the country.Mbasekei, who spoke with The Guardian, said immediately after the screening of the passengers, which lasted for about 12 hours, 'those of them with cogent reasons were allowed into the state' while those of them that lacked sufficient reasons 'were sent back'.The PPRO said that no destructive weapons were found in their luggage but that they were expelled on security grounds.He said that the police, no matter the pressure, would continue with the on-going stop-and-search in all the entire entrances leading to the state.But the organisation said that only Muslims were expelled and that members of other religions were not involved as earlier claimed by the police.'We are worried that in all the cases, the victims were Muslims and were so identified by the police. We want to repeat for emphasis and for the avoidance of any doubt, that this was done because the victims were Muslims and they were clearly identified as such', he said.The group said should the police fail to apologise for the said action, the organisation would be left with no option than to conclude that the 'police action was deliberate, discriminatory and provocative, the aim being to get Muslims to react in a way that another negative label can be thrown at them'.Citing various sections of the constitution on the right for movement and association, he said that Muslims must 'be allowed to live in peace and seek our livelihood within the boundaries of the law, just like our Christian brothers and members of other faith'.He noticed that due to the bad behaviour of some Muslims in the country, the authorities had an already-made mindset 'that every Muslim is seen as a potential security threat and, therefore, subject to humiliating treatment.'We call on the relevant authority to put a stop to that. While we do not condone lawlessness and will not advocate that people be allowed to pose obvious threat to the collective security of Nigeria, we will not continue to tolerate a situation in which Muslims are treated as common criminals and persona non-grata in their own country'.
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