The outgoing Kano state government led by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje has enacted a new law to regulate religious preaching.
This was announced by the Kano state commissioner for information and internal affairs, Muhammad Garba, on Friday, May 19, 2023.
“The law would coordinate the mode of preaching, sermons to prevent an attack on the leadership of the opposite sect, and incitement of followers via radio, television, newspaper, or any other conventional platform,” the commissioner said in a statement.
He said the government has also approved the establishment of a Council of Ulamas through a law enacted in the Kano state House of Assembly.
According to him, the council will supervise and regulate all religious sermons in the state.
The move by the Kano state government is said to have caused tension in the northwest state, especially among religious clerics.
Experts in the state also warn that the outcome of the legislation will have far-reaching implications that can trigger unrest.
Recall that Nigeria’s secret police, the Department of State Security (DSS), arrested an Islamic cleric and one other person for inciting violence in Kano a few days before the March 18 governorship election in the state.
The suspects, Isma’il Mangu and Abubakar Tabula, a singer, were accused by the DSS of deliberately inciting violence in parts of the state through separately recorded messages.
Last year, the Kano government warned clerics in the state to conduct their preaching according to the dictates of the religion and not on personal opinion or interest.
