The Niger State government has banned all forms of religious preaching, directing that anyone who wishes to preach must first obtain a licence from the authorities.
Confirming the decision on Thursday, the Director General of the Niger State Religious Affairs, Umar Farooq, said preachers have been given a two-month window to comply.
“It is true, the State Government has banned preaching. Any preacher who wants to preach must secure a licence between now and the next two months. All they need to do is to visit our office, get, and fill out the form. After which, they will have to face a panel that will screen them before they can start preaching,” Farooq said.
The directive has sparked reactions across faith communities in the state. The Chief Imam of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Bashir Yankuzo, insisted that preaching cannot be stopped.
“My opinion is that preaching is a command. The government is not paying anyone for doing the job; people are preaching in order to earn the pleasure of God. So, the government cannot dictate who to preach to and who not to preach. But at the same time, if there are people who are going out of their way to cause security threats, using abusive words and so on, then government can have control over that in order to maintain peace and security,” he said.
The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Niger State chapter, said it was yet to be officially briefed on the matter.
“The Christian Association of Nigeria is not aware of the ban. We shall come up with a statement when we are officially informed,” the state secretary, Raphael Opawoye, stated.
Other Islamic scholars have also weighed in. Ustaz Hassan said, “This law needs to go to the State House of Assembly for proper legislative action.”
Similarly, Minna-based journalist and Islamic scholar, Uthman Siraja, described the policy as unconstitutional.
“The ban on preaching is an infringement of freedom of worship and religion. The best thing for the government to do is to invite and penalise any preacher who incites the public in the cause of his preaching,” Siraja said.
