A day after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu called on Israel to end its aggression in Gaza, warning that “the conflict in Palestine has persisted for far too long, inflicting immeasurable suffering,” the pro-Islamic group, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has urged the Federal Government of Nigeria “to stop crude oil supply to Israel until the latter halts its genocide against the Palestinian people.”
MURIC alleged that Nigeria is currently “complicit in the crime against humanity being committed by Israel as long as it continues to supply crude oil to the Zionist State.”
Founder and Executive Director of MURIC, Professor Ishaq Akintola, said in a statement on Tuesday that “the continued supply of crude oil to Israel while thousands of innocent women and children are being killed in Gaza as aiding criminality, abetting belligerence and applauding genocide.”
According to the statement: “In spite of the raging genocide in Gaza, the Federal Government of Nigeria continues to supply crude oil to Israel thereby strengthening the Zionist enclave’s resolve to butcher thousands of innocent Palestinians most of whom are vulnerable women and children in its senseless genocide in the region.
“Nigeria’s attitude in this regard can best be described as aiding criminality, abetting belligerence and applauding genocide. It is insensitive, selfish and unacceptable. The continued supply of crude oil to Israel while thousands of innocent women and children are being slaughtered in Gaza dips the hands of Nigeria in the blood of innocent Palestinians.
“Nine per cent of the crude oil supplied to Israel between October 21, 2023, and July 12, 2024 came from Nigeria. This accounts for more than 133 kilotons of Nigerian crude delivered to the Zionist State via TotalEnergies, Shell, Chevron, Eni and Exxon.
“As a recalcitrant and belligerent nation, Israel can only be whipped into line by the rest of the world through sanctions by countries who take serious objection to racism and Nigeria happens to be one of such countries.
“This can only be done by withholding our crude oil at this crucial period. Israel relies heavily on crude oil and refined petroleum imports to operate its large fleet of fighter jets, tanks, and other military vehicles and operations.
“It should be noted that Nigerian oil is used each time an Israeli jet flies into Northern or Southern Gaza to drop its deadly bombs on innocent civilians, pregnant women and kids.
“South Africa, Bahrain, Chad, Chile, Columbia, Honduras, Jordan and Turkey have all withdrawn their ambassadors from Israel. Belize, Bolivia in Latin America have suspended relations with the Zionist State.
President Gustavo Petro of Colombia went a step further by suspending energy exports to Israel until the genocide in Gaza stops. Also, South Africa single-handedly took Israel to the International Criminal Court (ICJ) on 29th December, 2023.
“But what has been Nigeria’s contribution to the struggle to stop the bloodshed? Nigeria has only come up with mere condemnations of the actions of Israel. It is our considered opinion that condemnations remain mere rhetorics if the other party remains adamant and continues to do exactly the same thing it was doing before.
“It is therefore time for Nigeria to do more than mere condemnation. It is time for Nigeria to show by action that it is not going to be party to the killing of vulnerable women and children.
“At the last count, 43,508 Palestinians had been killed. 180 journalists, 261 teachers, 8 professors, 120 junior university lecturers, 5,479 students, 3 union presidents, 224 humanitarian workers including 179 staff of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) have fallen victims of Israeli blood-thirsty war machine.
“The time to act is now. Israel has gone haywire. It has defied the 193 member states of the United Nations (UN). It rejected resolution ES10/22 of 27th October, 2023 which called for immediate ceasefire as well as a plethora of resolutions of the UN earlier declared.
“We therefore demand that Nigeria joins Colombia by stopping the supply of its crude oil to Israel with immediate effect until the Zionist enclave stops its criminal and inhuman acts of genocide against the Palestinian people. Nigeria is complicit in the crime against humanity being committed by Israel as long as it continues to supply crude oil to the Zionist state.
“MURIC calls on members of the National Assembly (NASS) not to play the ostrich in the ongoing massacre of vulnerable women and children in Palestine.”
President Tinubu has on Monday told the extraordinary Arab-Islamic Summit convened to address the current situation in the Middle East, that Nigeria is deeply concerned with the humanitarian conditions in Gaza, affirming the country’s support for a two-State solution where both Israeli and Palestinians can co-exist in security and dignity.
Tinubu said: ‘The conflict in Palestine has persisted for far too long, inflicting immeasurable suffering on countless lives.
”As representatives of nations that value justice, dignity, and the sanctity of human life, we have a moral obligation to collectively bring about an immediate end to this conflict.
”It is not enough to issue empty condemnations. The world must work towards an end to Israeli aggression in Gaza, which has persisted for far too long.
“No political aim, no military strategy, and no security concern should come at the expense of so many innocent lives.”
The Nigerian leader called on parties in the conflict in the Middle East to respect the principles of proportionality and the basic rights of civilians, consistent with global legal and diplomatic frameworks.
”In a rules-based international order, States have the right of self-defence. But self defence must take proportionality into account, in line with global legal, diplomatic – and moral – frameworks. An entire civilian population, their dreams and futures, cannot be dismissed as collateral,” he said.
Explaining Nigeria’s principled and consistent stance on the two-State solution, President Tinubu noted that it stands as a beacon of hope, representing the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians to self-determination and peace.
”It is not just a diplomatic article of faith; it is a vision grounded in the principles of equality and mutual recognition.
”Achieving this vision requires a commitment to dialogue and respect for history. We all know this conflict did not begin on October 7 in 2023. It can only be resolved through principled compromise, based on appreciation of the proper context.
”This conflict, in the cradle of history, is so visceral that the ripples of division spread far and quickly. The corrosive impact of the images of endless violence, repeated on a billion smart phones around the world is huge. We need to find new pathways to peace, without delay,” he said.