The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) says there are “feelers” that the Sokoto state government is planning to dethrone Muhammad Abubakar as the Sultan of Sokoto.
MURIC asked Ahmad Aliyu, governor of Sokoto, to exercise
restraint and not tamper with the traditional institution.
In a statement on Monday signed by Ishaq Akintola, founder
and executive director of MURIC, the Islamic group cited the dethronement of 15
traditional rulers by the state governor in April 2024.
MURIC also “expressed concern over the sour relationship
between the governor and the Sultan”.
The organisation said the pedestal of the Sultan of Sokoto
is not only traditional but also religious, adding that the Sultan doubles as
the head of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA).
The group warned the Sokoto governor not to “force Nigerian
Muslims to take a drastically revolutionary measure”.
“However, feelers in circulation indicate that the governor
may descend on the Sultan of Sokoto any moment from now using any of the flimsy
excuses used to dethrone the 15 traditional rulers whom he removed earlier,”
the statement reads.
“MURIC advises the governor to look before he leaps. The
Sultan’s stool is not only traditional. It is also religious. In the same vein,
his jurisdiction goes beyond Sokoto.
“It covers the whole of Nigeria. He is the spiritual head of
all Nigerian Muslims.
“Therefore, any governor who tampers with the stool of the
Sultan will have Nigerian Muslims to reckon with because the Sultan combines
the office of the Sultan of Sokoto and that of the President General of the
Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA).”
The Islamic group urged the Sokoto house of assembly to
repeal the state chieftaincy law to include a clause that protects the Sultan
from dethronement.
Abubakar Bawa, chief press secretary to the governor, was
not immediately available for comments on the allegation. Calls and text
messages to his mobile phone were unanswered as of press time.
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Take the sultan down, heavens will not fall. By the way we are in an era where politics determines everything, Dethrone the sultan.
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