Sultan of Sokoto, Vatican Envoy Unite to Combat Hate Speech, Fake News

Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar

Sultan of Sokoto, Vatican Envoy Unite to Combat Hate Speech, Fake News

ABUJA — The President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, has called on religious communities across Nigeria to work together to combat hate speech, warning that the growing trend of insulting religious leaders and spreading divisive rhetoric poses a serious threat to peaceful coexistence across the country. The Sultan issued the warning on Monday in Abuja after receiving the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organisations, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, who led a high-level Papal delegation to the National Mosque. The meeting, which also included Cardinal John Onaiyekan, Catholic Archbishop of Abuja Ignatius Kaigama, and Bishop Matthew Kukah of the Sokoto Catholic Diocese, was aimed at strengthening interfaith cooperation and deepening collaboration between Muslim and Catholic leaders in addressing challenges confronting Nigeria and the global community, with both sides acknowledging that the rising tide of religious intolerance and misinformation has become a threat to the nation’s fragile social fabric.

Speaking through the Deputy Secretary-General of the NSCIA, Prof. Salisu Shehu, the Sultan said hate speech has become a major obstacle to harmonious relations among Nigeria’s religious communities, explaining that the phenomenon has eroded trust and fostered deep-seated suspicion between adherents of different faiths. He noted that the damage caused by hate speech extends beyond mere words, as it has created what he described as a “perceptual and relational crisis” that makes genuine dialogue and mutual understanding increasingly difficult to achieve. Shehu quoted the Sultan as saying: “Hate speech has been most injurious to peaceful coexistence in the country. It has created what you may call a perceptual and relational crisis among faith communities in Nigeria” . The monarch specifically condemned the growing trend of individuals publicly insulting respected religious leaders, describing such conduct as dangerous and capable of inflaming religious tensions and triggering communal violence. He stressed that such behaviour must be discouraged irrespective of religious affiliation, adding that people should refrain from insulting not only important religious figures but even ordinary individuals, who equally deserve respect and dignity. Shehu further quoted the Sultan as declaring: “There was a strong call for all religious and faith communities to work together to combat hate speech, especially the growing and unfortunate phenomenon whereby some individuals openly insult religious leaders who are highly respected within their various faith communities” .

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The meeting also highlighted the growing threat posed by fake news, with both religious leaders warning that the spread of false information has continued to fuel tension, mistrust and conflict across the country, and the Sultan emphasised that misinformation, particularly when weaponised along religious lines, has the capacity to undo decades of peaceful coexistence and hard-won interfaith trust. “Fake news is another evil that is being used in the country to precipitate a lot of troubles in the country, and therefore this is something that we need to fight,” the Sultan said, calling on religious leaders and the media to collaborate in combating the scourge of misinformation. The discussions further focused on what participants described as worsening moral degeneration across the world and the increasing rejection of religious values among young people — a phenomenon the Sultan identified as a growing challenge within both Muslim and Christian communities, with many young people becoming disconnected from their religious heritage and ethical foundations. Shehu noted that both leaders agreed that religious institutions have a responsibility to promote sound moral values and provide ethical guidance capable of reversing the trend, and the Sultan praised the Catholic community in Nigeria for its commitment to peaceful coexistence and its active participation in interfaith initiatives aimed at strengthening national unity, describing the partnership between the NSCIA and the Catholic Church as a model for interreligious collaboration in Africa.

Archbishop Gallagher described the engagement as productive and expressed optimism about the role religious leaders could play in fostering peace and stability in Nigeria, noting that the discussions revealed a remarkable alignment of perspectives between Catholic and Muslim leaders on critical national issues. “We had a very frank and illuminating conversation, and it was good to hear that many of our positions regarding the role of religious leaders, both on the Catholic side and the Muslim side, coincide. For me, this is a reason for optimism regarding the religious cohesion of the country and our shared commitment to working for the good of all Nigerians,” Gallagher said, adding that the meeting reinforced a shared conviction that Christians and Muslims must continue to work together in addressing the country’s challenges. “There is a common view and a common conviction that Christians and Muslims, particularly their leaders, must work together for the common good of all Nigerians,” Gallagher declared, underscoring the importance of sustained dialogue and mutual respect in overcoming the divisions that have historically plagued Nigeria’s religious landscape.

The Sultan, through Shehu, stressed that Muslim and Catholic leaders agreed that sustained dialogue, mutual respect and collaboration among faith communities remain critical to preserving national unity and strengthening peace in Nigeria, and both sides reaffirmed their commitment to working together through interfaith platforms to combat hate speech, fake news and other divisive tendencies capable of undermining peaceful coexistence in the country. The meeting came a day after President Bola Tinubu received Archbishop Gallagher at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where the President expressed Nigeria’s desire to deepen relations with the Holy See and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to protecting religious freedom and promoting interfaith harmony. This latest call echoes the Sultan’s previous remarks at the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) meetings, where he has consistently advocated for religious tolerance and national unity, firmly dismissing claims of an Islamisation agenda and declaring that Nigerians must resist divisive narratives that seek to exploit religious differences for political gain.

The Sultan’s engagement with the Vatican delegation is part of a broader tradition of interfaith collaboration in Nigeria, which has seen Muslim and Christian leaders jointly condemn violence, advocate for peace, and promote mutual understanding in a country often divided along religious lines, and the NSCIA, under the Sultan’s leadership, has consistently championed dialogue as the preferred pathway to resolving communal conflicts. Both leaders agreed that the fight against hate speech and misinformation requires a multi-stakeholder approach involving government, civil society, religious institutions and the media, and they called on religious leaders across the country to use their pulpits and platforms to preach tolerance, unity and respect for all Nigerians, regardless of faith. The meeting concluded with both sides expressing a renewed commitment to deepening interfaith partnerships and exploring concrete initiatives aimed at countering hate speech and promoting mutual understanding, with Archbishop Gallagher noting that the Vatican remains deeply committed to supporting Nigeria’s interfaith efforts and fostering peace in a country that holds significant strategic importance for the Catholic Church and the global community.