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The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has voiced concern over what it describes as escalating threats of violence targeting Muslims, particularly Yoruba Muslims, in Nigeria’s South West region.
In a statement released on Friday, MURIC’s Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, urged the Inspector General of Police, the Director-General of the Department of State Security (DSS), and other security agencies to intervene promptly to prevent the situation from worsening.
Akintola highlighted that tensions have been mounting due to heated debates surrounding the implementation of Shari’ah law in the region.
He noted that Yoruba Muslim leaders and their followers have become the focus of increasing threats, which are being circulated through social media and other platforms.
“We feel compelled to draw the attention of the Inspector General of Police, the DSS, and relevant security bodies to the growing conspiracy to incite violence against Muslims in the South West,” Akintola stated, warning that the situation is deteriorating as more groups issue threats.
According to Akintola, one of the latest threats came from an individual named Ahmed Saliu Olokoju, who claims to be the Secretary General of the previously unknown Yoruba Islamic Salvation Front (YOISF).
In a statement titled “Shariah in Yorubaland: The Fulani Grand Plot to Destroy Yorubaland,” Olokoju accused Yoruba Muslims advocating for Shari’ah of acting as agents of the Fulani—an allegation Akintola dismissed as unfounded and divisive.
Akintola further condemned Olokoju’s remarks, which reportedly included direct threats and calls for a “holy war” against supporters of Shari’ah law in the region.
He stressed the urgent need for security agencies to address these threats before they escalate into violence.