ORILE AGEGE GENERAL HOSPITAL MOSQUE CRISIS NOW RESOLVED – MURIC

12^th May, 2025

PRESS RELEASE:

ORILE AGEGE GENERAL HOSPITAL MOSQUE CRISIS NOW RESOLVED – MURIC

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has announced that the crisis between the Muslim community and the management of Orile Agege General Hospital has been resolved.

The announcement was made on Monday, 12th May, 2025 by the Executive Director of the group, Professor Ishaq Akintola.

He said:

“The crisis between the Muslim community and management of Orile Agege General Hospital has been laid to rest.

“It will be recalled that there had been tension within the hospital as a result of the hardline position taken by the Medical Director, Dr. Sola Pitan, against Muslims in the hospital. This led to complaints reaching our office and the intervention of MURIC became inevitable (https://independent.ng/muric-raises-alarm-over-threat-by-orile-agege-hospital-md-to-arrest-muslim-staff/)

“As a corollary to this development, the Muslim Community of Orile Agege General Hospital (OAGHMC) and the leadership of the Islamic Medical Association of Nigeria (IMAN), Lagos chapter, met the hospital’s MD in an emergency meeting within the hospital premises where the issue was resolved after the MD soft-pedalled.

Dr. Saeed Ahmad, Head of the Department of Surgery at the Lagos Hospital, led the IMAN delegation that attended the meeting which was held on Friday, 9^th May, 2025. He also led the Jumu’ah prayer in the hospital mosque. Henceforth, Muslim worshippers are free to use the mosque for Salat and other Islamic activities.

“We affirm that MURIC is always open to dialogue. We detest crisis and we hardly complain unless Muslims have been oppressed somewhere. We have a long list of such disputes resolved through dialogue. Only a few resulted in litigation but none has led to violence since our establishment in 1994. We justify our motto, ‘Dialogue, No Violence’, with every intervention. Violence is not in our DNA.

“That is why those who try to give MURIC and its Executive Director bad names will continue to lose. Their allegations are based on sheer bias, sentiment and an insatiable quest for Islam-bashing.

“We appeal to workers in the health sector to stick to the ethics of their profession in the handling of patients and people who visit hospitals for one thing or the other. Coldness and insolence towards such people are the least expected of them. They are counterproductive.

“There have been reports of Muslims, particularly women in hijab being treated with contempt and disdain within the four walls of government hospitals. This is both despicable and unacceptable.”

#LASG

#OrileAgegeGeneralHospital

#DisputeResolved

Professor Ishaq Akintola,

Founder/Executive Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC).