MURIC: Sokoto governor planning to dethrone Sultan

June 24, 2024 2:31 pm

Muhammad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) says there are “feelers” that the Sokoto state government is planning to dethrone Muhammad Abubakar as the Sultan of Sokoto.

MURIC asked Ahmad Aliyu, governor of Sokoto, to exercise restraint and not tamper with the traditional institution.

In a statement on Monday signed by Ishaq Akintola, founder and executive director of MURIC, the Islamic group cited the dethronement of 15 traditional rulers by the state governor in April 2024.

MURIC also “expressed concern over the sour relationship between the governor and the Sultan”.

The organisation said the pedestal of the Sultan of Sokoto is not only traditional but also religious, adding that the Sultan doubles as the head of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA).

The group warned the Sokoto governor not to “force Nigerian Muslims to take a drastically revolutionary measure”.

“However, feelers in circulation indicate that the governor may descend on the Sultan of Sokoto any moment from now using any of the flimsy excuses used to dethrone the 15 traditional rulers whom he removed earlier,” the statement reads.

“MURIC advises the governor to look before he leaps. The Sultan’s stool is not only traditional. It is also religious. In the same vein, his jurisdiction goes beyond Sokoto.

“It covers the whole of Nigeria. He is the spiritual head of all Nigerian Muslims.

“Therefore, any governor who tampers with the stool of the Sultan will have Nigerian Muslims to reckon with because the Sultan combines the office of the Sultan of Sokoto and that of the President General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA).”

The Islamic group urged the Sokoto house of assembly to repeal the state chieftaincy law to include a clause that protects the Sultan from dethronement.

Abubakar Bawa, chief press secretary to the governor, was not immediately available for comments on the allegation. Calls and text messages to his mobile phone were unanswered as of press time.