The Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has debunked rumours that Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, is plotting to Islamise Nigeria.
The Council spoke in a statement released on Tuesday by its Deputy National Legal Adviser, Imam Haroun Muhammad Eze.
“The attention of the NSCIA has been drawn to a piece of mischievous information being circulated in the social media that falsely ascribed to the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, a mischievous statement towards the now popular propaganda of Islamising Nigeria.
“This spurious information is not only baseless and unfounded but also malicious. The Sultan, who was purported to have made the statement, has been out of the country for the last two weeks.
“The Muslim community that the Sultan, by the grace of Almighty God, leads comprises of Muslims of all ethnic groups in Nigeria,” the statement said.
The Council said it is unimaginable that such an eminent leader could have uttered such abominable statement.
“While the Council would ordinarily not dignify the perpetrators of such a dastard act with a response, as it believes that every right-thinking person would discountenance it, we also see the need to educate the general public lest the information cause injury to the undiscerning minds,” the statement added.
The Council urged all Nigerians not only to disregard the publication but also to always verify the veracity of any information that comes their way before consuming and/or circulating it.