…Rejects linking banditry to Islam
Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, has dismissed claims that Muslims in Nigeria have any agenda to wipe out Christians, urging Nigerians to stop attaching religious labels to criminal activities such as banditry and terrorism.
The revered monarch spoke yesterday during the first tri-annual meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) held in Abuja, where religious leaders and government officials gathered to deliberate on insecurity and interfaith relations in the country.
Addressing concerns over rising tensions and the increasing tendency to describe criminals using religious identities, the Sultan insisted that Islam does not support violence or terrorism. He said: “Today, as I stand here, I want to affirm that Muslims are not in a hurry and have no plans for anything, including the decimation of the Christian population in Nigeria. We are in no position at all to take Christians out of Nigeria”.
The Sultan stressed that those behind killings, kidnappings, and banditry should simply be identified as criminals rather than “Muslim bandits” or “Muslim terrorists”, warning that such descriptions deepen division and fuel mistrust among Nigerians. “Let us get the narrative right; it is not about religion. Let’s stop bringing religion into it. Let’s refer to them by their true identity: criminals, not Muslim criminals, not Muslim terrorists, not Muslim bandits”, he emphasised.
According to him, even when perpetrators claim to be Muslims, their conduct contradicts the teachings and values of Islam. “No religion condones killing or terrorism”, the Sultan added, noting that both Christians and Muslims have suffered losses from violent attacks across different parts of the country.
He further called for stronger coexistence and cooperation between adherents of Christianity and Islam, saying religious harmony remains critical to Nigeria’s stability and national unity. The NIREC meeting also focused on strategies for strengthening interfaith collaboration and mobilising faith-based organisations to support efforts aimed at tackling insecurity nationwide.
