Regional

Muhammad Mahmed Turi, one of the leading members of the Islamic Movement denies the group is involved in violence

Q: Your Islamic movement has been accused of maintaining two camps. One, a place where you keep arms and the second one for training your followers for terrorist activities. Could you clear these two issues raised in the police commissioner’s letter to the IG? A: These allegations are totally unfounded and baseless, especially when they are coming from the Police Commissioner, who has all the opportunities to interact with the Islamic Movement at close quarters.

I remember two months ago, I was among the delegates sent by Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky to discuss with Governor of Kaduna State and his Security Council members. The police commissioner was part of this meeting, where we discussed security situation in the state and also gave assurance to the state government that a lot of security reports emanating from the police were unfounded. The state governor had the opportunity of discussing with the Islamic Movement and I believe he was convinced as regards the veracity of our position that the security reports were fabricated.

Q: The police have said out of guilty, you quickly rushed to address the press. Could you explain the essence of the press conference?

A: Leader of the Islamic Movement addressed the press conference to clear its name on this matter and I tell you that pressmen who were conducted round all those places called terrorist training camps didn’t see anything like that at our Fudiyya Islamic Centre and Dambo Village. At the moment we have a project, to produce a film on Sheikh Othman Danfodio and I challenge everyone to go and visit the place to see whether we are stockpiling arms and ammunitions there as alleged by the Police Commissioner. Let the people go to the village and interact with the villagers, if not for anything but to confirm from them if anything like that has happened in the past or now. At least I know that our film project has assisted to bring water to the village, which hitherto was not there.

Q: In a chat with the Police Commissioner before coming here, he insisted that you people carry dangerous weapons and that you adopt the violent approach? A: The police commissioner has a hidden agenda and we don’t know who he is working for, but we can state categorically that he is interested in fomenting trouble in the state. It was obvious that he was not satisfied with the amicable manner the Islamic Movement interacted with the state government, especially at the meeting I mentioned earlier.

Q: But the police commissioner said intelligence gathered shows that your movement trains terrorists and stores arms in some of your sites. Are you saying that the intelligence report is unfounded? A: If it is true let him provide evidence. If he has it, as he claimed, let him produce it for the press or at least the IG to see it.

If he can’t produce any evidence then we urge him to please provide pictorial evidence which is easier to get. I think the commissioner is underrating the intelligence of the public by claiming that he has evidence but keeps them to himself. Secondly, his insistence portrays ulterior motive. I wonder why the state government is insisting that peace prevails in the state and the commissioner is saying no, that there is a terrorist group in the state.

What he has forgotten is that we have been in existence for over 30 years, possibly at that time he wasn’t in the police. Check the records, we are a peace-loving people and we have never at any point in time breached public peace, killed or unleashed terror on people as alleged. For example, Sheikh El-Zakzaky was born in Zaria and his mother lives with him in the same house, so what interest does he have to destabilise the peace of Zaria and people of Kaduna The commissioner is just portraying his sense of ignorance about the film village and the Islamic centre.

Let me tell you, the film we produce at the Dambo village does not portray Nigeria in bad light, instead it is produced to educate our people on the ideals of islam. Our films are on the streets here in Zaria. We produce these films to portray our ordinary socio-cultural life. So, we are surprised that someone will sit in Kaduna and tell us what is happening in our centres. The allegation of stockpiling arms at the village cannot be substantiated by the police or anybody for that matter because it is not true.

The misfortune of new gTLDs through brand owners attacked ICANN by charging it of dispersing “slander affirmations” and of making “false affirmations” against it.

They put the blame on the highest prices for domain names with ICANN, stating what they did was defined in the request and contract for .sucks.

The action pursues a reclamation from ICANN’s Intellectual Property Constituency that conducts to ICANN for both the U.S. FTC and Canada’s OCA to take into account evaluating and establishing if Vox Populi is infringing any of the laws or rules those agencies apply, or not.

Although a tempting attempt of restoration, the .sucks registry operator Vox Populi Registry has left the .sucks “Sunrise Premium” brand in consideration of a new “Market Premium” service, showing Domain Incite it is nothing more than a renaming created to minimize uncertainty among trademark possessors.

In a letter from the .sucks registry operator’s law company, ICANN is charged with reproducing and embracing “the ICANN IPC’s unfounded statements that Vox Populi has attracted in ‘illicit’ activities, and that Vox Populi’ s uses are greedy, exploiting and compulsory.” Moreover, the letter contained a demand for the FTC to examine if Vox Populi has pushed them in any unlawful activities.

“Any of the respective letter has found out any method in which any law might actually have been violated; in reverse they simply insinuated that there is the possibility that Vox Populi’ s pricing to conduct to ‘cybersquatting’ and that could affect trademark possessors.”

The lawyers request that: “ICANN has distributed injurious declarations with respect to Vox Populi and its business uses followed at expropriating Vox Populi of the benefits mentioned in its contract with ICANN after sending these public letters and making the incorrect statements contained in this regard. These moves infringe the responsibility of honest intentions and fair business as it is specified in each contract, as well as ICANN’s own policies. As a sum up when insinuating illegality without any foundation, your moves, including those of the ICANN IPC and ICANN BC, have caused slander claims against ICANN. Thus, Vox Populi requires that ICANN, including its communities, suspend these type of activities promptly.”

From the letter marks, the registry wanted to make ICANN as the responsible for the money made out of brands via some of the highest Sunrise fees.

“According to ICANN’s agreements, Vox Populi can establish the price for these recordings at the level of the market. In spite of ICANN’s instigative characterizations of Vox Populi’ s pricing, these prices and how they were established, does not infringe Vox Populi’s contract with ICANN or any rules.”

The letter deducts that: Vox Populi does not follow any claim at this moment. We are confident that the FTC and the OCA will admit as soon as possible that there are no actual statements that justify any examination and that ICANN has detected no laws or regulations under the FTC’s or the OCA’s competence that have been infringed in every way. We are confident that your letter has just issued in some regrettable and temporary public attention.

Nevertheless, if ICANN or one of its constituent organizations captivates in any other illicit activity that limits the company from accomplishing its contractual obligations and managing the .SUCKS registry as it was visualized by both ICANN and Vox Populi, the organization will have no other choice but to follow any and all appeals disposable to it.”