The Concerned Christian Youth Forum (CCYF) has called on Niger State Governor, Umar Bago, to immediately withdraw the new policy mandating preachers to submit their sermons for government approval before public delivery.
In a statement signed by its Convener, James Paul Adama, the group described the law as “anti-religious, retrogressive, oppressive and a gross violation of fundamental human rights.”
The CCYF argued that the policy amounted to religious censorship, stressing that it contravened Sections 38 and 39 of the Nigerian Constitution, which guarantee freedom of thought, conscience, religion and expression.
The forum further pointed to international instruments such as Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief (1981), all of which protect religious freedom.
According to the group, rather than introducing such “ill-thought and discriminatory” laws, the Niger State government should focus on tackling poverty, insecurity and underdevelopment.
“Niger State has one of the highest poverty rates in the country with over 64 percent of its population living below the poverty line, yet the government is preoccupied with stifling religious freedom,” the statement read.
The CCYF urged the Bago-led administration to redirect its energy towards people-oriented policies capable of boosting economic growth, addressing insecurity, and improving education, health and infrastructure in the state.
While reaffirming its opposition to reckless and inciteful preaching, the group maintained that subjecting sermons to government approval was unjustifiable and dangerous to peaceful coexistence.
It urged the state government to “jettison forthwith the obnoxious law in the interest of peace, justice, good governance and respect for constitutional and international provisions on religious freedom.”
