Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III, has dismissed fears that Muslims in Nigeria are pursuing any agenda to target or eliminate Christians, stressing that such claims are false and only worsen distrust among citizens.
He made the clarification on Tuesday during the first triannual meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) held in Abuja, where top religious and government leaders gathered to discuss growing tensions and ways to strengthen national unity. The meeting had in attendance the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Daniel Okoh, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume.
The Sultan said many violent incidents often labelled as religious are being wrongly interpreted, warning that such narratives distort reality and deepen divisions in the country. He urged Nigerians to stop attaching religion to criminality.
“Today, as I stand here, I want to affirm that Muslims are not in a hurry and are not planning anything like decimating the population of Christians in Nigeria. We are not in any position whatsoever to remove Christians from Nigeria. No, it is not possible,”
He emphasised that both Muslims and Christians are destined to coexist in Nigeria and must work towards peace, mutual respect and understanding rather than suspicion.
“Let us get the narrative right, it is not about religion. Let us stop bringing religion into it. Let us call them what they are, criminals, not Muslim criminals, not Muslim terrorists, not Muslim bandits. Even if someone claims to be Muslim, what they do goes against Islam,”
The Sultan also warned against religious misinformation and false claims of authority, saying education and proper understanding of faith are essential for peaceful coexistence.
“The fact that you understand Arabic does not make you a Sheikh. Arabic is just a language. So literacy is very important,”
Speaking further, he reiterated NIREC’s commitment to dialogue as a tool for peace-building, noting that understanding and trust remain key to resolving national challenges.
“In NIREC, we believe in dialogue. No matter how bad things are, we believe in dialogue. When talking, you need to understand one another, not just tolerate. If you do not believe me, what else can you do? You cannot open my heart to see what is inside. We must trust one another,”
He also condemned acts of violence carried out in the name of religion, insisting that such actions are unacceptable and will ultimately attract divine judgment.
“Somebody can go to the market, blows his or herself up, kill people and shout ‘Allahu Akbar’. Yes, God is great, but you are going to hell. They will suffer for taking innocent lives.”
