Sokoto Hisbah dismisses claims of restricting Christian worship
Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
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- The Sokoto State Hisbah Board has denied allegations of imposing restrictions on Christian worship and religious gatherings.
- The board's Commandant, Dr. Usman Abdullahi Jatau, stated that the Hisbah Board's mandate, as established by law, applies exclusively to Muslims.
- Jatau described the claims, which originated from social media, as false and misleading, warning against attempts to create religious tension or link the board to political agendas.
The Sokoto State Hisbah Board has firmly refuted claims circulating on social media that it has imposed restrictions on Christian worship and practices within the state. The Islamic enforcement agency stated that these allegations are false and misleading, capable of inciting religious tension.
The law establishing the Sokoto State Hisbah Board, as enacted by the Sokoto State House of Assembly, applies only to Muslims.
Commandant of the board, Dr. Usman Abdullahi Jatau, clarified that the law establishing the Sokoto State Hisbah Board, enacted by the State House of Assembly, applies solely to Muslims. He emphasized that the board possesses no legal authority to regulate Christian worship, dictate how other faiths conduct their religious activities, or interfere with mixed gatherings in churches.
The allegations, reportedly sparked by a blogger, included claims that mixed-gender services were prohibited, male and female worshippers had to be segregated, and pastors could not sit with their wives during services. These claims were also framed as part of a broader plan to Islamize Nigeria, beginning with Sokoto.
Our response is not intended to please or offend anybody, but to correct factual inaccuracies, challenge unsupported assertions, and distinguish facts from malicious and fictitious misinterpretations.
Jatau rejected these assertions, stating that attributing such restrictions to the Hisbah Board constitutes a distortion of facts. He stressed that the board's mandate is confined to Muslims and that any attempt to link it to political narratives or a supposed Islamization agenda is baseless and unrelated to its statutory responsibilities. The board urged the public to disregard the unfounded allegations and avoid misinterpreting its activities.
The blogger should continue his campaign for whichever party he is working for, but should not link the Sokoto State Hisbah Board with his assertions on the political fortune or misfortune of the country.
About this summary
Originally published by The Punch in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.
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