The Sultan of Sokoto and President of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, has denied saying that security agents were dodging bandits and mocking victims of attacks.
The Sultan who is also a co-chairman of the Nigeria Inter-religious Council, denied this in a statement on his behalf by Executive Secretary, NIREC, Prof. Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua.
“The NIREC, under the leadership of the co-chairmen, the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the NSCIA, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, and the President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Archbishop (Dr) Daniel Okoh, hereby appreciate the public, especially the media who covered the events of the 2023 Second Quarter Meeting at NICON Luxury Hotel, Abuja, from the 17th to 19th of May, 2023.
“The theme of the meeting was ‘Media and Effective Leadership for Nation-building’. Some of the messages were misrepresented by some reporters.
“For instance, the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the NSCIA, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, did not say: ‘Security Agents Dodging Bandits, Mocking Victims.’
“What he said was, ‘When bandits go into people’s communities and kill them and burn their houses and whatever, nothing is done. After the deed has been done, the security agents will now go there, to do what? To look at the ashes that have been burnt?” Omonokhua said.