The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has withdrawn its attempted legal charges against Folarin ‘Falz’ Falana, over his viral controversial ‘This is Nigeria’ shaku shaku video.
Recall that Professor Ishaq Akintola, Director of MURIC recently issued the artiste a seven-day ultimatum for the withdrawal of the video and had also demanded an apology in the dailies from the artistes.
The viral video featured, hijab-wearing video vixen dancing ‘shaku-shaku’ dance, and a man illustrating how Fulani herdsmen behead farmers in the country.
MURIC in the statement released on Monday said, “Our office has since been inundated with solidarity visits, while our telephone lines have been flooded with a deluge of calls from members, friends, well-wishers, journalists and other concerned Nigerians, majority of whom are of the Islamic faith.
“In deference to pleas made by well-meaning Nigerians, in order to keep faith with our avowed motto (Dialogue, Not Violence) and to further confirm that MURIC is a listening, mature and responsible organisation committed to promoting peace in Nigeria, the Think-Tank resolved to drag the artist to government agencies saddled with the responsibility of censoring films and videos.
“It is not a U-turn but a sudden change in tactics.”
The group said the new move “will have a more enduring impact not only on Falz but the entire industry” as it will make agencies sit up to their responsibilities.
“MURIC is no longer contemplating court action against Falz, neither are we demanding any apology from him or his management.
“The likely pecuniary gain in the event of a court validation of our claims does not interest us. We are no longer looking at Falz but at a larger picture.
“The matter will now go to those government agencies who are supposed to do their jobs in the first place. Instead of creating media tension and granting cheap popularity, this matter will now be handled by professionals who know what to do.
“In the interest of peace, law and order, we are calling on the National Film And Video Censors Board (NFVCB) to take up the matter from this moment," the Islamic group claimed.
MURIC however noted that the video is “offensive and provocative,” saying the images portrayed Nigerian Muslims as killers, adding that the video is capable of igniting crisis and breakdown of law and order.
Falz had earlier reacted to the threat saying, "We have nothing to say. We are not withdrawing the video neither are we commenting on their claims. If they have any grievance they can head to court and we will meet them.
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