Nigeria's Islamic council warns against linking crime to religion or ethnicity

The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has issued a strong caution against linking criminal acts to any specific religion or ethnic group, warning that such narratives exacerbate societal divisions and hinder efforts to combat insecurity. The council emphasized that criminality should not be given ethnic or religious colorations.

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Criminality should neither be given ethnic nor religious colouration, as such narratives deepen divisions and undermine collective efforts to address insecurity and achieve lasting peace.

In a Democracy Day message signed by its Public Affairs Officer, Abbas Jimoh, on behalf of the President-General and Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, the NSCIA condemned all forms of violence and criminality. The council urged perpetrators to abandon their destructive paths and expressed solidarity with victims and their families.

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The Council unequivocally condemns all acts of violence and criminality and, for the umpteenth time, admonishes those involved to abandon and repudiate their destructive activities. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the victims and their families.

The NSCIA expressed particular concern over attempts to associate Nigerian Muslims with banditry, kidnapping, and other violent crimes, labeling such profiling as unfair and unrepresentative of the majority of peace-loving Muslims in the country. The council unequivocally stated that such religious profiling is false, misleading, and unjust to the overwhelming majority of Muslims who contribute positively to national development.

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We wish to state unequivocally that such religious profiling is false, misleading, and grossly unfair to the overwhelming majority of peace-loving Nigerian Muslims who continue to live, work, and contribute positively to national development across all sectors of the society.

Referencing the recent kidnapping incident in the Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, the NSCIA pointed to subsequent developments that disproved initial attempts to link the crime to Islam or Muslims. The council argued that ethnic profiling is equally misleading, noting that suspects arrested in connection with the incident were not identified as Fulani, contrary to early reports.

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While some mischief-makers were hell-bent on criminalising the Muslims and the Shariah for the kidnapping of students and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, recent developments have vindicated the Muslims of the attempted false-criminalisation.