The Sokoto State Hisbah Board has denied claims that it imposed restrictions on Christian worship and practices in the state, saying it has no legal authority to regulate how Christians conduct their religious activities.
The board’s commandant, Dr Usman Abdullahi Jatau, made this known in a statement issued on Saturday, August 29 in Sokoto.
The clarification followed social media claims alleging that the board was interfering with Christian worship in the state. The allegations, circulated by a blogger identified as @radical.okoja.bia and others, claimed that mixed gatherings of men and women were prohibited in churches and that Christian worship services were required to be separated by gender.
The claims also alleged that pastors could not sit with their wives during church services and linked the supposed restrictions to an alleged plan to Islamise Nigeria. However, Jatau dismissed the allegations as false and misleading, saying they did not reflect the law establishing the Hisbah Board or its actual activities. DownloadingInteractive Geographic Maps
According to him, “The law establishing the Sokoto State Hisbah Board, as enacted by the Sokoto State House of Assembly, applies only to Muslims.” He stressed that the agency does not regulate Christian worship or the religious practices of people of other faiths.
“The Board has no authority to dictate how Christians should conduct church services, organise gatherings, relate with their spouses during worship or practise their religion,” Jatau said. He warned that spreading the allegations could create unnecessary religious tension and damage the peaceful relationship among different religious communities in Sokoto State.
“Spreading such claims could create unnecessary religious tension and damage the peaceful relationship among different religious communities in Sokoto State,” he said. Jatau said people of different religious backgrounds continue to live and carry out their lawful activities in Sokoto, urging residents not to allow unverified social media reports to create distrust or division.
He also rejected attempts to link the Hisbah Board to claims of an organised plan to Islamise Nigeria, saying such political narratives had nothing to do with the agency’s statutory responsibilities. “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,” Jatau said.
The board urged Nigerians, particularly residents of Sokoto, to disregard the allegations and avoid using religion for political or social purposes. It also called for peace, unity, mutual respect and the responsible use of social media to protect harmonious relations among the country’s different religious communities.