How viral video of group inciting religious violence was filmed in Zamfara – Police

The Zamfara State Police Command has released preliminary findings from an investigation into the viral video of a man soliciting arms for his group to attack Christians in Enugu and Plateau states.

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On Tuesday, police paraded the suspect, Umar Ibrahim, after arresting him in connection with the circulating footage.

Mr Ibrahim, reportedly a member of Jama’atu Izalatil Bidi’a Wa’ikamatus Sunnah (JIBWIS), was handed over to law enforcement after the video provoked widespread outrage on social media.

Speaking at a press briefing in Gusau, the State Commissioner of Police, Muhammad Bello, said the video was recorded on 23 October while Mr Ibrahim led the organisation’s First Aid Group to a mosque in the Maradun Local Government Area.

Maradun is roughly 120 kilometres from Gusau, and the journey between the two towns takes nearly four hours because of poor road conditions.

Mr Bello said the suspect will be arraigned in court and charged with breach of public peace, incitement of hatred, and criminal intimidation, in violation of Sections 77, 78, and 380 of the state penal code.

The National Chairman of JIBWIS, Abdullahi Bala-Lau, condemned the footage and urged the State Security Services (SSS), the police and other security agencies to unmask those behind the recording, and prosecute anyone found culpable.

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READ ALSO: Inside Zamfara communities, where residents bear brunt of reprisal attacks by bandits

Mr Bala-Lau stated that the inciting remarks and calls for violence are foreign to the core values, teachings, and objectives of JIBWIS.

He argued that wearing the organisation’s First Aid Group uniform or standing among members does not confer official representation or authority to speak on behalf of the body.

Expressing concern about the video’s timing and nature, the cleric noted that external actors might have calculatedly staged the incident to smear the organisation’s image and undermine national peace.

He pointed to JIBWIS’s peacebuilding track record, citing its recent international conference in Abuja, which convened Christian leaders, scholars from Islamic denominations, and international delegates to foster interfaith harmony and religious tolerance.

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