President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Bishop Francis Wale Oke, has issued a blunt public challenge to the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, and other Islamic leaders to directly confront the persistent linkage of terrorism with Islam in Nigeria.
Bishop Oke’s question is stark and unsettling: why do virtually all major terrorist groups ravaging Nigeria: Boko Haram, ISWAP and others, openly profess Islam while unleashing violence? Why, he asked, do these groups shout “Allahu Akbar” while killing innocent citizens?
According to the PFN President, silence or vague distancing is no longer enough. He called on the Sultan and respected Muslim authorities to issue clear, loud and unmistakable condemnations that leave no room for ambiguity, stressing that these groups are doing incalculable damage to the image of Islam by invoking the faith during acts of terror.
Bishop Oke contrasted this with criminality in other parts of the country, noting that armed robbers, kidnappers and bandits elsewhere do not typically cloak their crimes in religious slogans or identities. He argued that the continued use of Islamic symbols and declarations by terrorists demands a firmer, more public response from Islamic leadership.
While acknowledging that the Sultan of Sokoto has previously stated that Islam rejects extremism and that terrorists are criminals, not true Muslims, Bishop Oke’s intervention signals growing frustration and a demand for stronger, more visible moral leadership at a time when Nigerians are desperate for clarity, unity and decisive action against terror.
The message is clear: terrorism must be stripped of any religious cover, and those whose faith is being abused must lead the charge in saying so—without hesitation and without equivocation.
• Source: The Sun
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