The Companion, an association of Muslim men in business and the professions and Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) have described as libelous a publication by an online medium that the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NACHON), Alhaji Zikrullah Kunle Hassan, was quizzed by the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).

National Amir of the Companion Alhaji Kamil Olalekan and the Public Affairs Secretary Muideen Adeleke, also described as malicious the allegation of the medium that it organised a phantom reception in honour of Hassan

The duo said the author of the publication is misguided.

According to them, the entire write-up was fabricated by an unscrupulous clique who had been wowed by the unprecedented achievements of the avid Islamic scholar and successful legal practitioner, while he held sway at NAHCON.

“The Companion contended that, despite the fact that his appointment coincided with the outbreak of the global pandemic, COVID-19 in 2020, Alhaji Hassan hit the ground running and raised the bar of hajj administration in Nigeria through the introduction of a number of reforms.

“It stresses that, contrary to the figment of warped imagination of the writer of the report that the reception was bankrolled by Alhaji Hassan, a four-man Committee which midwifed the independently raised the funds and invited the guests that attended. “It is ludicrous that the online media threw all cautions into the winds by publishing tissues of lies and also made no efforts to reach out to the man in question in line with the spirit of balancing, before rushing to the press,” the group said.

The Companion reiterated that it will always be proud of the sterling achievements of Hassan, adding contrary to the unsubstantiated report published about him, his exploits are already in the public domain for posterity.

MURIC Director, Prof Ishaq Akintola, said the claim that Hassan was grilled by the EFCC was fake, odious, odoriferous and a lie from the pit of Jahannam (hell).

Akintola described those behind it as petty, mean and cowards.

He said: “As a human rights outfit dedicated to the pursuit of truth, we did our homework before reacting. Our findings reveal that the story was a hatchet job. Somebody somewhere wanted to puncture the good works of Hassan. But they failed woefully. This online media house has succeeded in exposing itself as pedestrian, jejune and subatomic.

“The interviews conducted by MURIC exposed the authors as pathological liars because whereas they claimed that the six executive secretaries of the pilgrims’ board in the South-West wrote a petition against Hassan, such a thing never happened and those interviewed denied writing such a petition.

“They said there was no reference at all to the former chairman of NAHCON because what they wrote was not even a petition but an appeal to the authorities to pay their emoluments for the 2022 hajj which was disrupted by COVID-19. They were also aware that the delay in the payment was due to the usual bureaucracy for which ministries and agencies are well known and over which the ex-NAHCON chief executive had no power.

“One of those we spoke with described the former chairman, Hassan, as ‘…A very nice man. He is our father … We wrote no petition against him.’

“We therefore wonder where the media house got its cock and bull story from. It is clearly a hatchet job concocted from their figment of imagination. It is nothing but a product of yellow journalism designed to tarnish the good name of a man of integrity. We cannot rule out a developing campaign of calumny still in its embryo stage.”

Akintola said Hassan is a worthy ambassador of Nigerian Muslims.

“He stands on the same pedestal with Prof Ishaq Oloyede, Professor Ali Isa Pantami, Mallam Adamu Adamu, etc. It is our duty as an Islamic human rights organization to challenge and expose mischief makers who attempt to tarnish the reputation of heroes of the Nigerian Muslim Ummah.

“MURIC therefore warns those behind such diabolical plot to desist and rethink because we will not hesitate to go all out after them if they persist in their lactiferous ways.”

END.