The Allegations on Dr. Isa Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy

The calls for resignation and pressure on the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, over his alleged links to extremist groups like Al-Qaeda and Boko Haram in addition to his pro-Taliban views has continued unabated.

The campaign which started with unconfirmed media reports that the United States Government had allegedly placed him on a security watchlist over alleged links with the late founder and leader of the dreaded Boko Haram group, Mohammed Yusuf, later snowballed into a series of other allegations which border on his extreme Islamic views and activities in the past.

Pantami, an Islamic cleric, in his initial reaction to the allegation of being on US security watchlist due to his extremist views, denied the allegations, saying that he had always preached against the Boko Haram sect for over 15 years over its condemnable doctrines and practices at the expense of his life.

He alleged that those behind these allegations are those who are not happy with his implementation of the good policies of President Muhammadu Buhari on security especially the government policy on National Identification Number (NIN) and threatened legal action against the publishers.

The Minister in his statement said, ‘’News Wire Nigeria your retraction through your independent investigation has been noted. However, investigative journalism requires the investigation before publishing, not after. Further, major publishers will meet my lawyers in court on this defamation of character.

My lectures against the doctrines and all other evil people have been available for over 15 years, including debates that endangered my life against many criminals in Nigeria. If you can’t understand Hausa, get an objective Hausa speaker to translate for you objectively.

For your information, by the Almighty, no amount of intimation will stop Isa Pantami from implementing the good policies of President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR on security.”

Nigerians Demands Dr. Isa Pantami’s Resignation- (See their reactions)

As the calls from Nigerians for the resignation of the 48-year-old Minister continued, over his religious views, Pantami, for the first time on Saturday, April 17, 2021, according to some media reports, acknowledged his past religious views but said that he has since renounced those radical comments.

He blamed his past radical leanings on age, immaturity and limited knowledge as well as based on his understanding of religious issues at the time, adding that he has changed several positions taken in the past based on new evidence and maturity,

However, despite renouncing his past radical views, more people on social media and even public figures, have joined the agitation for his resignation, saying that his views as a student cannot be blamed on age.

Some Nigerians have expressed their views on the matter with a good number of them insisting that the Minister has to resign. A Twitter user, Chris Chukwu, said Nigerians are not going to sleep on this issue because he is a threat to National security.

@Festus Ogun said that if the President refuses to sack Pantami, he should be prepared for #EndSARS part 2.

Effiong John, while stating why President Buhari would not sack the Communications Minister said that a terrorist apologist will not sack another terrorist apologist.

A human rights activist Comrade Deji Adeyanju said that a terrorist sympathizer is a terrorist.

Ayemojubar lamented that Nigeria has been taken over by terrorists.

Another Twitter user, Abiodun Sanusi said that sympathizing with Isa Pantami is the same as showing sympathy for Osama Bin Laden.

However, while responding to Governor Wike’s reaction to the issue, a former presidential aspirant, Omoyele Sowore said that the Rivers State Governor was only grandstanding as he was some time ago, caught on tape threatening to kill an INEC official.

Some Nigerians have, however, expressed their support and sympathy for the Minister as they believed that he is being victimized for some of the government’s policies that he is driving.

A Twitter user Khaleel Kumo said that #Pantami must go is purely hypocritical and directed at anything good that comes out from Islam.

A Twitter user Faarees asked that the #PantamiMustGo must stop trending and Nigerians should go and link their SIM with their NIN.

Musbey in his defence for Pantami said that as long as you are a practising Muslim and successful, they will hate you.

NYCN Urges President Buhari to ignore the extremism charges on Dr. Ali Isa Pantami

The National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to ignore religious extremism charges being made against the minister of communications and digital economy, Dr Ali Pantami.

The group said the attacks were aimed at getting rid of the “best brains’” in the government. In a letter addressed to Buhari on Tuesday, NYCN said the recent media report, which emanated from audio and video sermons delivered by the minister, has made some Nigerians to call for his resignation or removal by the Nigerian leader.

The letter with reference number PRES/GCFR/FGN/NYCN/01/21 drew the president’s attention to what it described as a wider plot by people with sinister motives to discredit other top federal government’s functionaries.

In the letter signed by NYCN president, Solomon Adodo, the group said, “The programme of building a digital economy for Nigeria to join the league of advanced countries of the world is a task the indefatigable Sheikh Pantami is pursuing to the delight of young people of this country.”

NYCN said the current furor emanated from the views expressed by Pantami in the distant past, lamenting that the minister’s statements had become a sinister political tool for those who are bent on looking for ways to get rid of the best brains in the current administration.

It said Pantami had unfortunately been “singled out as a major target in this subtle and sinister campaign against your government and the Nigerian State.”

The group said, “It will be very regrettable to pay any serious attention to the machinations of the enemies of the ‘Change and Next Level Agenda’ in the light of the fact that the grand plot is to fan the embers of divisions and disintegration, designed to destabilize and make mockery of your government.”

The Presidency’s Statement

In defense of the Communications Minister, the Presidency through the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity said that Pantami, made those extremist remarks when he was in his 20s and has since then retracted them and changed his views.

The Presidency pointed out that this currently manufactured dispute has nothing to do with the Minister’s prior words but rather concerns over his actions in the present which include leading the charge against illegal data deductions and pricing, deregistering 9.2 million SIMs thereby ending the ability for criminals and terrorists to use mobile networks undetected.

Also reacting to alleged links of Pantami to the death of the late former Governor of Kaduna State, Patrick Yakowa, the Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Kaduna State chapter, Rev. John Hayab, warned against linking the death of Yakowa to Dr Isa Pantami.

He called on Nigerians to ignore such insinuations and release of some documents with doubtful authenticity, which endangers national peace.

Read the Statement below;

Today, there is an unfortunate fashion in public discourse that makes leaders in politics, religion, and civil society liable in the present for every statement they have ever made in the past – no matter how long ago, and even after they have later rejected them.

This insidious phenomenon seeks to cancel the careers of others on the basis of a thing they have said, regardless of when they said it.

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami is, currently, subject to a “cancel campaign” instigated by those who seek his removal. They do not really care what he may or may not have said some 20 years ago: that is merely the instrument they are using to attempt to “cancel” him. But they will profit should he be stopped from making decisions that improve the lives of everyday Nigerians.

The Minister has, rightly, apologized for what he said in the early 2000s. The views were absolutely unacceptable then, and would be equally unacceptable today, were he to repeat them. But he will not repeat them – for he has publicly and permanently condemned his earlier utterances as wrong.

In the 2000s, the Minister was a man in his twenties; next year he will be 50. Time has passed, and people and their opinions – often rightly – change.

But all discerning Nigerians know this manufactured dispute is nothing to do with the Minister’s prior words, but solely concern his actions in the present.

This Administration is committed to improving the lives of all Nigerians – and that includes ensuring they are not over-charged or under-protected for those services on which modern life depends.

The Minister has been leading the charge against illegal data deductions and pricing; he has revolutionized the government’s virtual public engagement to respond to COVID-19 and save taxpayers’ money; he has established ICT start-up centres to boost youth entrepreneurship and create jobs; he has changed policy to ensure locally produced ICT content is used by ministries, starting with his own; and he has deregistered some 9.2 million SIMs – ending the ability for criminals and terrorists to flagrantly use mobile networks undetected. In two short years, Minister Pantami has driven the contribution of the ICT sector to the GDP to more than 18 percent, making it one of the top two playing a critical role in the emergence of the economy from the COVID 19-induced recession.

In putting people first, the Minister and this administration have made enemies. There are those in the opposition who see success and want it halted by any means. And there is now well-reported information that alleges newspaper editors rebuffed an attempt to financially induce them to run a smear campaign against the minister by some ICT companies, many of which do indeed stand to lose financially through lower prices and greater consumer protections. The government is now investigating the veracity behind these claims of attempted inducement, and – should they be found to hold credence – police and judicial action must be expected.

The Administration stands behind Minister Pantami and all Nigerian citizens to ensure they receive fair treatment, fair prices, and fair protection in ICT services.

Garba Shehu
Senior Special Assistant to the President
(Media & Publicity)
April 22, 2021

The very critical question is why are these allegations are coming up now after almost 2 years in office as a Minister. Is he a terrorist sympathizer, an allegation he has denied or is he a victim of some of the government policies whose execution he is spearheading?

These are questions that are still begging for answers.

A man raped and drowned his five-year-old stepdaughter in a bathtub after her mum asked him for a divorce. Aleksandr Pilipenko, 44, was sentenced to life imprisonment on April 19, 2021, after being found guilty of the brutal murder of 5-year-old Daria Pilipenko at their home in Crimea.

After raping and killing the girl in November 2019, he dressed her body and buried it on the outskirts of the village of Kropotkine before reporting her missing, local reports said.

Two days later, he confessed to the killing and led the cops to her body.

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He was immediately charged with rape and murder of a minor.

Man raped and drowned stepdaughter, 5, after her mum asked him for a divorce

He was jailed for life at the Crimean Supreme Court on Monday, April 19, as the mother remains in a mental health facility, The Sun reports.

“The stepfather battered the girl during her bath time before committing acts of sexual nature against her,” police official Oga Postnova said.

“After that, he drowned her in the bathtub.”

Detectives said he killed Daria after her 23-year-old mum, Yekaterina Pilipenko, asked him for a divorce.

Yekaterina’s relatives said the young mum had decided to put an end to the relationship due to domestic abuse.

After Daria was killed, Yekaterina sought medical help.

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The heartbroken mum was hospitalised in a mental health facility after her daughter’s funeral. She is still being treated at the facility.

“She ‘takes Daria to school’ and ‘talks’ to her. She does not believe that her daughter is no longer alive,” her relatives said.

“At first, she realised that the girl was buried, but then something went wrong. Doctors give positive predictions.”

Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Kenya, have arrested a 38-year-old married man over the brutal murder of his girlfriend.