The Sultan of Sokoto State, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, has denied accusing security agents of dodging bandits and mocking victims of attacks. The Sultan, who is also the co-chairman of the Nigeria Inter-religious Council and President of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, made the denial in a statement issued on his behalf by Prof. Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua, the Executive Secretary of NIREC. The statement followed a meeting of NIREC with the theme ‘Media and Effective Nation Building’ held in Abuja. The Sultan restated the alarming wave of attacks in states across Nigeria since the general elections. He noted that the attacks were not related to religion but were the work of some ill-informed individuals.
According to the Sultan, who had been speaking on the theme of Media and Effective Leadership for Nation Building, the killing of innocent citizens and the burning of their homes in various communities have continued without any resistance from security officials. He stressed that the security agents only showed up after the attacks to look at the charred remains of the affected areas. The Sultan denied making any statement that accused security agents of dodging bandits or mocking victims. He explained that his statement had been misrepresented by some reporters.
While the Sultan’s statement about the need for cohesive national security to address the issue of insecurity in Nigeria is vital, the media should strive to correctly report on public statements by leaders to promote fairness and avoid the spread of misinformation.
