From There are insinuations that you and your group will declare war on Nigerian authorities at any moment. What can you say about that?
We are hearing the rumour exactly the same way you are hearing it, that we are going to attack the Nigerian authorities. That is why, immediately after my Jumu’a (Friday) sermon, I drew the attention of the general public that the rumour making the rounds that we are going to strike at night, in the early hours of the morning, after Jumu’a prayers, are just that—mere rumour mongering, which we don’t know about. As you can see, we are announcing our normal preaching schedules for the week and there is no way we can wage a war now especially when we are gathered here with our women and children from all over the state. It is the very authority that we are being accused of planning to attack that initiated and is currently promoting these rumours in order to justify their planned attack on this Da’awa (call) by the police and the military.
Since you started this movement in early 2001, there has never been a time when you received hundreds of thousands of visitors in your house like now. Is it connected to what you said recently, that you would retaliate the shooting of 17 members of your sect?
One of the reasons my followers are coming from far and near is that, on a daily basis, people convert to this Da’awa and I don’t travel like I used to and there is a need for these people to understand the message in order for them not to be doing something contrary to what we are doing here. Another reason is that we don’t trust the authorities; because they are planning to stop this Da’awa, our members are being harassed everywhere: in Kaduna and in other places. And I wish to state here that the shooting of our 17 brothers is unacceptable to us, we will not allow any further shooting of our members, and we will retaliate but when and how I will not disclose to you…
Does that mean your threat is connected to the arrest of some members of your sect at Biu with explosives?
No, it is not connected to these incidents. Moreover, you are the one telling me about my people being involved in this. I am not sure they are my people; all I know is that my people are being harassed and pursued in Biu.
