The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has accused the Federal Government and the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) of sidelining Muslims in their holiday welfare programmes specifically, in the ongoing free train rides.
According to the group, such gestures only surface during Christian festive periods.
In a statement released on the 5th of June, 2025, just before the Eid al-Kabir holiday, MURIC’s Executive Director, Prof Ishaq Akintola, criticised the government’s pattern of offering free rail travel at Christmas without replicating it for Muslim celebrations.
He pointed out that while passengers travelled freely between December 2024 and early January 2025, there was no such offer for Eid, as all scheduled trips remained fully paid.
“If this is an oversight, we demand an apology from FG. If it is deliberate, we will assume it is an exhibition of executive impunity,” the group said.
MURIC highlighted NRC’s recent announcement of additional train services from Lagos to Ibadan and other routes, but argued they weren’t free and fell short of the “luxury” Christians enjoy during Christmas.
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The group questioned the fairness of the move, especially under a government led by a Muslim president and elected on a Muslim-Muslim ticket. It described the pattern as part of a larger issue of Muslim exclusion from national benefits.
“Despite the fact that neither FG nor NRC has been fair to Muslims, we will hold our peace since we have no iota of doubt that Almighty Allah is forever constant, ever watchful,”Akintola added.
The group also took aim at lingering national traditions it believes favour Christianity including the structure of public holidays and weekends, which it says reflect colonial-era religious bias.
MURIC concluded by demanding an apology or a reversal of what it sees as a discriminatory pattern. Still, it extended warm Eid greetings to the Muslim faithful, urging calm and patience during the celebration.