The Patrick Anum Advocacy Group has petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS), the Plateau State Police Command and the state Attorney-General, seeking an investigation into public remarks attributed to the National Chairman of the Council of Ulama, Jama’atu Izalatul Bid’ah Wa’Ikamatis Sunnah (JIBWIS), Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir.

The group said the remarks, particularly recent comments on the religious and demographic composition of Plateau State, had the potential to heighten existing inter-communal and inter-religious tensions.

According to the group, Jingir, on Saturday, September 26, 2026, asserted that Muslims constitute a majority in Plateau State compared with Christians but were being marginalised.

The advocacy group said the claim was concerning, particularly given Plateau State’s history of communal and religious conflicts.

The petition also referenced remarks allegedly made by Jingir a few weeks earlier, in which he reportedly said Nigeria was a Muslim country and that anyone unwilling to accept a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket should leave the country.

The group further alleged that on August 9, 2026, while addressing supporters at the “Abba Go Again” campaign event for the Kano State governor in Kano, Jingir referred to non-Muslims as “infidels.”

It said such remarks were particularly troubling against the backdrop of recent attacks and displacement of communities in parts of Plateau State, alleging that inflammatory rhetoric could be used to justify violence.

Founder of the Patrick Anum Advocacy Group, Patrick Anum, said the assertion about the religious and demographic balance of Plateau State could deepen existing tensions if interpreted as a justification for altering the state’s political or demographic structure.

Anum said the group was also concerned that similar remarks attributed to Jingir over the years suggested what it described as a pattern of inflammatory rhetoric.

“We note that these remarks have already attracted public condemnation,” Anum said, adding that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), on August 11, 2026, publicly described the earlier statements as hate speech and incitement to religious hatred and potential violence.

According to him, the NHRC had called on the Inspector-General of Police, the Director-General of the DSS and other relevant authorities to arrest and prosecute Jingir.

“We join the NHRC in calling for his arrest. To our knowledge, no arrest had been announced nor public charges filed as at the date of this petition,” he said.

The group also cited several previous statements it attributed to Jingir, including his reported description of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 as a conspiracy to prevent Muslims from gathering for prayers, and his reported participation in congregational prayers despite government restrictions on public gatherings.

It further alleged that in 2023, Jingir framed support for a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket as a religious obligation for Muslims and reportedly described Muslims who opposed the ticket as non-believers.

The petition also referred to remarks allegedly made by Jingir during the 2023 Plateau State governorship election campaign, including comments the group said portrayed the then All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate as a vehicle for advancing Islam in the state.

The group further alleged that, in July 2025, Jingir criticised Muslim scholars who received former presidential candidate Peter Obi, objecting to Obi’s wearing of Hausa traditional attire and referring to the killing of former Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello, during the January 1966 coup.

It quoted him as saying, “We Fulani will never forgive the Igbo for killing our Sardauna.”

The advocacy group also alleged that Jingir had more recently argued that Plateau State did not belong to its indigenes but to God, which it said could aggravate indigene-settler tensions.

It further accused him of making an unsubstantiated allegation against a former Plateau State governor concerning alleged organ harvesting targeting Hausa and Fulani settlers.

However, Anum stressed that the group was not asking the authorities to prejudge the allegations.

“Rather, given the gravity and pattern of this conduct, and the NHRC’s own public findings, we ask that the competent authorities investigate the making, content and circulation of the August 2026 Kano remarks and further obtain the underlying video and audio recordings, transcripts and publications.

“We also urge the authorities to coordinate, as appropriate, with the NHRC, which has already reviewed footage of the 2026 remarks.

“Where the investigation establishes reasonable grounds that an offence has been committed, we urge the authorities to take appropriate lawful enforcement action, including arrest and prosecution where warranted, in accordance with due process and consistent with the NHRC’s public call for action.” (Guardian)