The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NSCIA

  • Akinlotan’s pointless beef with NSCIA’s press briefing

    Akinlotan’s pointless beef with NSCIA’s press briefing

    It is a moot point that the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) addressed a press conference on Sunday, November 9, 2025 to refute the claim that there is a ‘Christian genocide’ in Nigeria, as claimed by the stormy petrel, President Donald Trump of the United States of America. The Secretary- General of the Council, Prof. Emeritus Is-haq Oloyede, CON, painstakingly provided legal, factual and data-based evidence to analyse the issue, situate the blackmail in the right context and suggest the way forward.

    While many Nigerians consider the intervention insightful and timely, especially in the light of the information it provides, a few others, based on either one, or a judicious mix, of ignorance, mischief, inferiority complex, hatred and hubris, choose to nitpick and prevaricate on the points made by the Council. Of course, the Council would not have expected everyone to agree with it and definitely, it didn’t intend to pander to the sentiments of self-hating Nigerians, separatists and Islamaphobes who would rather set their household ablaze to incinerate a rat.

    Among those who seek to dismiss the well-reasoned points made by the Council is The Nation newspaper’s columnist, who camouflages under the nom de guerre, Idowu Akinlotan, to drive his drivels. Many public actors from the old Kwara State, who are aware of the origin and antecedents of the real columnist, would not be surprised that he is behaving to type. In his November 16, 2025 column, “Genocide: NSCIA misses the point”, the writer engages in a façade, a sophomoric content analysis, and ends up exposing his religious bias, poor understanding and professional insincerity. And as James Anthony Froude once put it, “Of all the evil spirits abroad at this hour in the world, insincerity is the most dangerous”. It is only that insincerity is not just abroad, which provoked the NSCIA’s intervention, it is equally prevalent at home, as evident in the article under reference.

    Those who listened to, or read, the NSCIA’s briefing would be surprised that Akinlotan conveniently distorts what Prof. Oloyede said and deliberately lies to advance his weak argument.  While he writes that “in paragraph 23 the Council casually and carelessly declares that there is no religious intolerance in Nigeria, it takes dishonest analysis to its acme,” there is no denying religious intolerance whatsoever in the briefing. In the paragraph under question, what the Council affirmed is that “there is no Christian genocide in Nigeria. There is no Muslim genocide in Nigeria. The Nigerian tragedy is that of poverty, climate change, bad governance, and armed criminals who kill indiscriminately…” As can be seen in other parts of the article, it is not the Council that is dishonest, it is the (fifth) columnist.

    It is ironic that while the Council took pains to explain what genocide is, which the writer assumes to be “meaningless”, it is the same point that Akinlotan terribly misses. He, therefore, justifies the need to remove the fog from the eyes of the teachers, who teach what they don’t understand, and their gullible audience.

    There is even nothing remotely suggesting that Nigeria does not have ‘anomalies and paradoxes’. The reverse is the case as the whole text was aimed at highlighting those anomalies and paradoxes, not conflating them as genocide, as bigots and separatists would want their American savior to believe. 

    While some analysts may be impervious to undisguised truth and historical accuracy, it is still important to remind the author and his co-conspirators that the obsession with the Middle Belt and the killings there is part of their evil agenda. The establishment of faith-based and ethnic militias that masterminded the 1992 massacre of thousands of Hausa-Fulani Muslims there predated Boko Haram and banditry. The age-long, vicious but under-reported pogroms against Muslims in Southern Kaduna (beginning with the 1981 Kasuwa Maganimarket crisis that led to the killing of several Muslims), Plateau and Taraba states provided the impetus for the orgy of violence that is blamed on Muslims, the actual victims.

    What incenses Akinlotan is the revelation that the same game played at the international level as epitomized by the persecution, dehumanisation and annihilation of Palestinians is similar to the scenario at hand. Americans themselves confirm that the United States of America funds terrorist organisationsthat commit horrendous crimes and atrocities while labeling them ‘Muslim’. This moral duplicity is at the heart of the insecurity in Nigeria and other parts of the world. It is so glaring to the blind that the “terrorists” of yesterday, hounded and incarcerated, are the presidents of today who are received in the White House. This is the uncomfortable truth that is ignored: non-Muslims sponsor terrorists to defame and demoniseMuslims and provide a pretext to attack Islam.

    Read Also: Akume mourns veteran journalist, Agbese, says Nigeria has lost a national treasure

    The message that no one can save Nigeria than Nigerians especially when we all put sentiments aside and attack the common enemy of criminality is lost to people bereft of conscience and sincerity. The message of the Council is clear and simple to the open minds but Akinlotan misses it in paragraph 22: “our Christian brothers and sisters, you are not our enemies; you are our compatriots, colleagues and neighbours. We are both, Muslim and Christian, victims of a failed security architecture and a brutal criminal insurgency that targets us all. We have never denied our collective pain. Do not let foreign political gladiators or domestic separatists use our real pain to destroy our shared home…. We, as Muslims, stand with you against all violence, against all criminality, and against all terror.”

    Akinlotan should remove the blinkers that block his view. The Council does not deny the pains of Christians in some parts of the North. Rather, it is bigoted journalists who ignore the attacks on Muslims by anarchists in the South and the North.  I challenge Akinlotan to write on the pains of the voiceless Muslims in the South. Have there been mosque demolitions or not in River state? Haven’t Muslims been denied a place of worship in tertiary institutions there? Was it the adoption ofSharia that made terrorists to murder a pregnant Muslim woman, Harira Jubril, along with her four children in Anambra in May 2022?

    Let Akinlotan be honest to himself for once and allow his column to reflect at least a bit of the Rotarian four-way test on matters concerning Islam and Muslims: “Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? And will it be beneficial to all concerned?” It is only then that he will be taken seriously as an independent analyst, not a mere stooge or cheap megaphone of those tellingly used to illustrate a supposed column on NSCIA.

    •Mr Akande is a graduate of the University of Ilorin.

  • UPDATED: NSCIA faults Trump’s designation of Nigeria as ‘country of Particular concern’

    UPDATED: NSCIA faults Trump’s designation of Nigeria as ‘country of Particular concern’

    The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, (NSCIA) on Sunday condemned the U.S. government’s decision under President Donald Trump to label Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” over alleged persecution of Christians.

    NSCIA said the issue is not religious, adding that the terrorists are killing Christians and Muslims. 

    Secretary General of NSCIA, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, while briefing journalists in Abuja after an expanded general-purpose committee meeting of all Islamic organisations across Nigeria on Trump’s statement, advised US to help the government fight insecurity rather than invade Nigeria.

    He described the move as unjust, biased and based on a one-sided narrative.

    Oloyede condemned what it described as “false and dangerous” claims of a Christian genocide in Nigeria, warning that the narrative is part of a coordinated foreign agenda to destabilize the country.

    Oloyede argued that Nigeria’s insecurity stems from ethnic, political, and economic issues, not religion and that both Muslims and Christians have suffered from violence.

    NSCIA urged Nigerians to reject foreign attempts to cause disunity and called for peace, dialogue, and cooperation among all groups. 

    He also demanded that the Federal Government take firm action on insecurity  and tackle the menace. 

    He explained that factors such as poverty, mass unemployment, drug abuse, porous borders and proliferation of weapons are driving insecurity, along with criminal syndicates involved in illegal artisanal mining that create ungoverned spaces.

    “This is organised crime for resources. It is not Islamic. In Sokoto, Muslims have lost thousands of lives to the same bandits who kill indiscriminately. Even the U.S. Department of State’s 2022 report on International Religious Freedom confirms that these bandits are criminals, not religious extremists,” he added.

    NSCIA accused some U.S. politicians, evangelical groups and Nigerian separatists of spreading misleading claims to influence American domestic politics and undermine Nigeria’s unity.

    Oloyede said the re-imposition of the CPC designation is not based on new facts, it is a political tool wielded by lobbyists and cheapens the concept of religious freedom.

    Read Also: Soludo’s victory shows Nigeria not gravitating to one-party state – Okechukwu 

    He said: “We convened this conference on behalf of the Nigerian Muslim Ummah to condemn the recent threat against the sovereignty of our nation. We have not been emphasizing the killings of Muslims because we do not see it as a religious war, but a national security issue. The world is aware that some Islamophobic and unpatriotic Nigerians had authored a dangerous script, promoted it in Western circles especially in the United States and got the attention of the highest levels of the United States government, which are erroneously made to believe that there is a “Christian genocide” in Nigeria.

    “When the U.S. President, Mr Donald Trump labeled our country “disgraced”, every right-thinking Nigerian was concerned because an ally that is determined to help a sovereign country to “completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities” would offer to assist and collaborate with the country and not use such language to describe a country it aims to partner in wiping out the terrorists.

    “While a number of countries (e.g., China, Saudi Arabia, Myanmar) have also been designated “Countries of Particular Concern”, the present context of “what Nigeria will not like” suggests that the plan is a pretext to destabilize our country. We reaffirm that there is no “Christian genocide” in Nigeria. Under Article II of the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide 9 and Article 6 of the Rome Statute 11, the crime is defined by a critical “mental element” known as dolus specialis. This is the specific “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such”. There is nothing like that in Nigeria”.

    Oloyede said for the avoidance of doubt, what Nigeria faces is a complex and tragic perennial security crisis that brings immeasurable pain to all its citizens, regardless of faith or ethnic persuasion.

    He said: “From Katsina to Borno and from Benue to Plateau, as well as in Kaduna and Kwara, Nigeria bleeds through gruesome savagery against Muslims and Christians, Imams and priests. Non-partisan experts have refuted this blackmail and Amnesty International, which methodically investigated the insecurity in Nigeria, had stated that there is “no evidence of a religious motivation” to characterise it as genocide. According to Isa Sunusi, the Director of Amnesty’s Nigeria programme, “I don’t think President Trump has any facts. I don’t think he has had a very good briefing about the nature of this conflict”. Senior researchers like Samuel Malik of the pan-African think tank, Good Governance Africa, have also stated that “there is no credible evidence of a state-led or coordinated campaign to exterminate Christians, which is what genocide is.

    “While President Trump and Senator Cruz name “Radical Islamists” and “Islamist Jihadists” as the culprits, ISWAP and Boko Haram, the fact is that these groups are khawarij (deviants), whose ideology declares Muslims who do not join them as “dissidents”. Muslims are also their victims.  As Amnesty International correctly stated, “The jihadist groups kill both Muslims and Christians. They demolish Mosques and Churches. They don’t differentiate”. These terrorists are not our representatives; they are our mortal enemies.

    “The world knows that some of the terrorist groups being paraded as “Islamic” are creations of non-Muslims. For instance, it is publicly acknowledged that the United States of America created Al-Qaeda, which is being projected as Islamic.  Also, a US Congressman, Scott Perry, testified that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was financing the activities of Boko Haram and other terrorist groups in Nigeria and elsewhere.

    “If the violence in some parts of Nigeria is not religious, what are the real drivers? The first is ecological. As the International Crisis Group has detailed in multiple reports, how relentless desertification and drought, products of climate change, have degraded pastures and dried up water sources in the far-northern Sahelian belt. This is not an “Islamist invasion”; it is a desperate southward migration of herders seeking survival. This climate-driven migration forces herders into direct, and often violent competition with sedentary farming communities over dwindling resources of land and water. Historic grazing reserves have been lost to expanding settlements, and traditional conflict resolution mechanisms have eroded. This is the flashpoint for the farmer-herder crisis in Plateau, Benue and other middle belt states in Northern Nigeria.

    “The second driver is criminality. In the Northwest, Northeast and Southeast, banditry is fueled by the overlapping factors of grinding poverty, mass youth unemployment, drug abuse, porous borders and the proliferation of small arms and light weapons over the decades. Crucially, as researchers have noted, it is also driven by illicit artisanal mining of solid minerals. Criminal syndicates and bandits sack villages and displace populations, creating an ungoverned space for their illegal mining operations. This is a violent, organised crime racket for resources and there is nothing Islamic about it also. In Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto axis, Muslims have lost more than 1,200 souls to the same bandits who answer to crime, not tribe or faith. The United States Department itself, in its 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom, stated that “banditry and other criminality, not animosity between particular religious groups… were the primary drivers” of intercommunal violence. This is not a religious war”

    NSCIA went further that: “we cannot gloss over how, over a long period, failure of governance has enabled violence in Nigeria. Studies have revealed how endemic corruption, lack of accountability for human rights abuses and failure to provide basic security for citizens have, over time, created a vacuum for impunity. When the state fails to protect anyone, criminals and militias thrive. This is a “massive state failure”, as some have called it, not a state-sponsored “genocide”.

  • JUST IN: NSCIA faults Trump’s designation of Nigeria as ‘Country of Particular Concern’

    JUST IN: NSCIA faults Trump’s designation of Nigeria as ‘Country of Particular Concern’

    The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) on Sunday condemned the U.S. government’s decision under President Donald Trump to label Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” over alleged persecution of Christians.

    NSCIA said the issue is not religious, adding that the terrorists are killing Christians and Muslims.

    Secretary General of NSCIA, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, while briefing journalists in Abuja on Trump’s statement said US should help government fight insecurity and not invade Nigeria.

    Read Also: APC’s Ukachukwu weeps over burning of APC supporter’s building

    He described the move as unjust, biased, and based on a one-sided narrative.

    Oloyede argued that Nigeria’s insecurity stems from ethnic, political and economic issues, not religion, arguing Muslims and Christians have suffered from violence.

    NSCIA urged Nigerians to reject foreign attempts to cause disunity and called for peace, dialogue, and cooperation among all groups.

    He also asked the Federal Government take firm action on insecurity and tackle the menace.

    Details shortly……..

  • NSCIA commends Radda for reintroducing Christian religious studies in Katsina schools

    NSCIA commends Radda for reintroducing Christian religious studies in Katsina schools

    The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), led by its President-General, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, has applauded Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda, for reintroducing Christian Religious Studies in primary and secondary schools across the state.

    In a statement issued on Sunday by its Secretary-General, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, the council described the move as an act of justice, fairness, and inclusivity, in line with Islamic principles of equity.

    The NSCIA noted that the decision reflects the values of tolerance and respect for diversity, which it said are fundamental to building a just society.

    “It is common knowledge that the religion of Islam condemns the persecution of the minority in its totality. During the first century of Islamic suzerainty over Arabia, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) emphasised the rights of the minority regarding freedom of belief and worship and strove to ensure that they were not only protected, but also safeguarded against persecution.

    “While the NSCIA is unequivocally in support of the teaching of Christian Religious Studies in Muslim-dominated states, it however calls for reciprocity in Christian-dominated parts of the federation. The Council therefore urges the Governors of the South Eastern, South Southern and some South Western states, where the teaching of Islamic Religious Studies (IRS) is prohibited, to learn from the good example of Governor Radda.

    Read Also: NiMet warns Borno, Bauchi, Ebonyi, others of possible flooding

    “The case of Rivers State University, where the Muslim students and staff have been denied their right to assembly anywhere on campus to observe their five daily prayers, sums up the persecution of Muslims in Southern Nigeria. The students initiated a Fundamental Rights application at the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt Division vide Suit No: FHC/PH/150/2012, which was subsequently determined in their favour.

    “However, rather than restoring the rights of the Muslim students, the University and the State Government appealed the judgment. The Rivers State Ministry of Justice filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal in Appeal No: CA/PH/614/2013, and the Appeal Court affirmed the decision of the trial court in 2017.

    “In the same vein, rather than undertaking a self-retrospection and letting the dictates of justice stand, the Rivers State Government, through the law office of E. C. Ukala & Co., went ahead to file an appeal at the Supreme Court (No: SC/055/2018), which has unfortunately not been heard to date.

    “There is no gainsaying the fact that the progress, development and advancement of the Nigerian nation are, and shall continue to be ineluctably linked to the preparedness of the political class to eschew injustice, partisanship and arrant abhorrence for pluralism in state governance. These found ample demonstration in Governor Radda’s recent executive order, if as such it may be described. The NSCIA is of the strong opinion that this is the path that all stakeholders in our nation should tread as a categorical imperative.”

  • NSCIA consoles Catholics on Pontiff’s death

    NSCIA consoles Catholics on Pontiff’s death

    Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has described the late Pope Francis as a humane, humble and fair-minded servant of the God.

    In a letter of condolence by NSCIA’s Deputy National Legal, Haroun Muhammad, NSCIA, on behalf of Muslims in Nigeria, condoled with the Catholics on the transition of Pope Francis.

    Read Also: Restoring hope to the economy with naira-for-crude policy

    The letter said: “The late Pontiff was a humane, humble and fair-minded servant of the Almighty. The fact that the last public pronouncement of the late Pope called for a ceasefire in the war against the people of Gaza and the Palestinians is a testament to the late Pope’s commitment to a just and equitable world…

     “In memory of the late Pope, we renew the commitment of the NSCIA to dialogue, peace and understanding among all faiths.

    “May the Almighty comfort the Catholic community and guide them towards the election of an equally equitable and just leader.”

  • NSCIA unveils five new Imams for Abuja National Mosque

    NSCIA unveils five new Imams for Abuja National Mosque

    The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) on Tuesday, December 10, unveiled five new Imams for the Abuja National Mosque.

    The Imams were unveiled after their consideration by the General Purpose Committee and endorsement by the National Fatwa Committee.

    Read Also: Tinubu meets Atiku at National Mosque Abuja

    The five new Imams are: Prof. Ilyasu Usman (Enugu State), Prof. Luqman Zakariyah (Osun State), Dr. Sheikh Abdulkadir Salman (Kwara State), Bar. Haroun Muhammad Eze (Enugu State), and Prof. Khalid Aliyu Abubakar (Plateau State).

    Details shortly…

  • CAN, NSCIA to Fed Govt: fish out terror sponsors for punishment

    CAN, NSCIA to Fed Govt: fish out terror sponsors for punishment

    The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Nigeria Supreme Council on Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) yesterday urged the Federal and state governments to fish out the people, groups of people or organisations that have unleashed terror and hardship on Nigerians through the armed non-state actors for necessary punishment.

    The umbrella Christian and Islamic organisations said the government should not mind how highly placed the perpetrators are and how big their network may be.

    They spoke yesterday in Abuja in separate remarks delivered at the fourth quarterly meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) under the co-chairmanship of CAN President Daniel Okoh, and President-General of NSCIA and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III.

    The religious bodies acknowledged that years of terrorists’ activities have made life unbearable for Nigerians – directly and indirectly – destroying communities, sources of livelihoods and, in some cases, displacing thousands from their ancestral lands, thus forcing them into Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps. 

    Okoh admitted that Nigeria is blessed with abundant natural resources, ranging from oil and gas to solid minerals, as well as arable lands that have the potential to serve as a powerful engine for national development.

    The CAN president said the nation should have been able to create jobs, alleviate poverty, and improve the quality of life for all Nigerians with the resources. 

    “Sadly, the reality we face is starkly different. Instead of being a blessing, our natural resources have, in many instances, become sources of conflicts and insecurity. The mode of exploitation and greed in managing the resources has often led to strife, not only between different ethnic and regional groups but also within communities that vie for the control over these resources.

    Read Also: CAN, Sultan demand action against sponsors of armed non-state actors

    “The resulting insecurity has had devastating effects on our social fabric, leading to displacement, loss of lives, and a pervasive sense of fear among our citizens. As religious leaders, we have a unique and vital role to play in addressing these issues. 

    “Our faith teaches us the values of stewardship, sanctity of human life, compassion, and justice. We are called to be the voice for the voiceless, to advocate for equitable resource distribution, and to promote peace and reconciliation among our communities. 

    “It is imperative that we use our positions to address the level of wickedness that manifests in lack of transparency and accountability, impunity and outright organised theft of our common wealth, by calling for accountability and the strengthening of the justice system in Nigeria to punish all criminal acts that undermine our national security, peace, unity and development,” he said.

    Abubakar echoed the CAN President’s statement, saying there was a need for Nigerians to return to God and plead for mercy so that peace and progress can return to the society. 

    The NSCIA President-General cautioned politicians against fraudulently accumulating wealth they may not need and won’t find useful at the end of their lives.

    “Let’s continue to remind ourselves that no matter what you have in this world, it doesn’t belong to you. God placed it in your hands momentarily so you can use it to better the lives of people around you. Reach out to the needy in your communities and neighborhood,” he said.

    The Sultan expressed appreciation to NIREC members and other stakeholders, particularly the Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, for their commitment and dedication to religious peace and tolerance in Nigeria.

    He prayed for the nation to enjoy peace and live   in better days ahead.

    “Undoubtedly, 2024 has been a tortuous year for Nigerians. It hasn’t been easy for people, financially and otherwise. Nevertheless, we must continue to keep our faith alive hoping that 2025 will be a better year,” Sultan Abubakar said.

    NIREC’s Executive Secretary, Rev. Cornelius Omonokhua, stressed that though Nigeria is richly blessed with natural and human resources, the resources have not been sources of blessings but sources of pains in the form of insecurity.

    “In the Southern part of Nigeria, palm oil and crude oil appear to be manipulated by foreign powers to the extent the inhabitant of the Niger Delta region wished that they never had oil because of the disaster the oil exploration has caused to their waters for fishing and land for farming. 

    “In the Northern part of Nigeria, one would have expected serious development through solid minerals and agriculture. Today, the Northern farmers are afraid to go to the farm that once produced the groundnut pyramid. 

    “Zamfara is supposed to be a land of religious purity that is guided by religious laws and ethics. Unfortunately, the alleged discovery of gold has turned the land into a home of banditry. The entire nation has become so insecure that banditry has become a lucrative business, even for some traditional rulers and security agents.”

    Akume lauded the role NIREC in strengthening the religious peace and tolerance in Nigeria.

    The SGF noted that the harmonious relationship the religious bodies have fostered among the major religious had resulted in socioeconomic growth and development of the country over the years. 

    He told the council that the Federal Government was working assiduously on some of the issues it had identified to be working against the growth and development of country.

    Akume urged them to use their influence to maintain peace and unity in the country.

    The SGF said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was taking several steps to boost the economy and create wealth for the people.

    He solicited their support for the Nigerian project.

  • NSCIA hails FG over Disaster Relief Fund

    NSCIA hails FG over Disaster Relief Fund

    The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), on Friday commended the Federal Government for establishing a Disaster Relief Fund.

    The council gave the commendation in a statement issued by the Deputy Secretary-General of the NSCIA, Prof. Salisu Shehu.

    While welcoming the new initiative, the council said it would go a long way in “entrenching proactive and preemptive measures against disasters, not just reactive ones that are in place.

    “Though long overdue, the Council welcomes the development which aims to ensure rapid and efficient response to the needs of disaster victims nationwide.

    “We actually consider it a right step in the right direction.

    Read Also: UNGA: Nigeria dedicated to nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation, says Badaru

    “The Council expects that, in addition to disaster/ emergency management, a department/unit of government should be saddled with the responsibility of undertaking disaster prevention.

    “The department/ unit should have the necessary mechanisms and frameworks to reduce to the barest minimum if not fully prevent, the occurrence of disasters.

    “Since a stitch in time saves nine, this initiative will go a long way in entrenching proactive and preemptive measures against disasters, not just reactive ones that are in place.”

  • Step up action against insecurity, NSCIA urges Fed Govt

    Step up action against insecurity, NSCIA urges Fed Govt

    The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has urged the Federal Government to step up action on the battle against insecurity.

    NSCIA decried the level of insecurity across the land.

    The advice is contained in communiqué issued at the NSCIA 9th Expended General Purpose Committee (EGPC), meeting held at the National Mosque in Abuja.

    The meeting was presided over by the Sultan of Sokoto/ President-General of NSCIA, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, assisted by the two deputies Shehu of Borno, Abubakar Ibn Umar Garbai El-Kanemi and Rasaki Oladejo.

    Read Also: FG orders 37 contractors to deliver 260 emergency road projects in three months

    Other members and prominent among the traditional rulers at the meeting were: Emir of Zazzau;  Amb. Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli; Etsu Nupe, Yahaya Abubakar; Emir of Kazaure, Najib Hussaini Adamu; and Emir of Gummi, Justice Lawal Hassan Gummi (rtd).

    Other members at the well-attended meeting included present and past senior members of both the bench and the bar, current and former ministers, heads of agencies both private and public, captains of industries and respected scholars at the various strata of the educational system.

    According to a statement issued yesterday by NSCIA Secretary-General, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, the religious body at the end of the meeting also resolved that: “Members of the EGPC reiterated their absolute confidence in the President General and Sultan of Sokoto for his exemplary leadership.

  • Ramadan: Look out for new moon, NSCIA tells Muslims

    Ramadan: Look out for new moon, NSCIA tells Muslims

    • As DSS charges faithful to be security conscious during the fasting period

    The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has announced the tentative dates of March 11 and March 12, 2024, as the commencement dates for the annual Ramadan fast, pending the sighting of the moon after sunset on Sunday, March 10, 2024.

     In a statement signed by the Deputy Secretary-General of the NSCIA, Prof Salisu Shehu, the council urged Muslim Ummah to search for the crescent of Ramadan 1445 on the given date, equivalent to 29th Sha’aban 1445 AH.

    The NSCIA also urged faithful who had credible sightings of the crescent to inform members of the National Moon Sighting Committee.

    “The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), under the leadership of its President-General and Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alh. Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar felicitates the entire Muslim Ummah on the auspicious occasion of the forthcoming 1445 AH Ramadan Fast.

     “The council prays that Allah spares the lives of every Muslim to participate in the ibadah (worship) exercise and to maximise the benefits therein.

    “Consequent upon the advice of the National Moon Sighting Committee (NMSC), the President-General enjoins the Nigerian Muslim Ummah to search for the crescent of Ramadan 1445 AH immediately after sunset on Sunday, 10th March 2024 which is equivalent to 29th Sha’aban 1445 AH.

    “If the crescent is sighted by Muslims of impeccable character on the said evening, then His Eminence would declare Monday, 11th March 2024 as the first day of Ramadan 1445 AH.

    “If, however, the crescent is not sighted that day, then, Tuesday, 12th March 2024, automatically becomes the first of Ramadan, 1445 AH,” the statement partly read.

    Noting the economic hardship in the country, Shehu appealed to the “endowed Muslims” to extend acts of charity to the less privileged, while also admonishing traders not to hoard food products or unduly hike the prices of goods through the period of the fast.

    “In the face of the current economic hardship, the Council appeals to endowed Muslims in the country to extend acts of charity to the less privileged within their neighbourhoods before, during, and after the month of Ramadan.

    “The Council also admonishes traders to neither hoard food products nor unduly hike the prices of consumer goods during the period of the fast.

    Read Also: NLC to Fed Govt: let salaries, wages be commensurate with cost of living

     “We urge the Muslims to take advantage of the holy month of Ramadan to pray that Allah grant the Palestinians His divine support and liberate them from their oppressors,” he further stated.

    On its part, the Department of State Services (DSS) also called on Nigerians to refrain from economic exploitation, sabotage, or profiteering during Ramadan and the Christian Lent period.

     The Director of Public Relations and Strategic Communications, DSS National Headquarters, Abuja, Peter Afunanya, in a statement on Friday, urged residents to also remain vigilant against public dangers especially Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

    He said, “The DSS recognises the significance of these sacred rites and enjoins worshippers to promote understanding, compassion, and respect for one another during and after the exercises. It appeals to stakeholders to refrain from economic exploitation, sabotage, or profiteering during these important obligations.

     “This is more so that illegal practices such as price gouging or unethical marketing tactics are ungodly; violate fairness and can undermine the true essence of the holy events. As believers, it is incumbent upon us to uphold good standards and ensure that everyone can observe the religious duties with ease and dignity.

     “Furthermore, the Service encourages clerics and religious leaders to uphold empathy as well as prioritise cooperation and conflict prevention beyond the periods under reference. Similarly, the media is encouraged to utilise their platforms to foster informed and accurate engagements that (can) enhance the achievement of national security objectives and interests.

    “Likewise, residents are advised to remain vigilant against public dangers especially Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). The general public is urged to stay informed about potential threats; avoid crowded or suspicious areas and report to relevant security agencies any strange objects, activities, and movements of hostile elements. In the same vein, the Service calls for tolerance, bonds of brotherhood, dialogue, and peaceful coexistence among the populace.”