More Condemnation on "Give us Guns to kill Christians" and a Call for thorough Investigation - Abdullahi Hamza

The Zamfara State Police Command has apprehended the suspect, Umar Ibrahim Gandi Maradun, a 22-year-old JIBWIS member who marched with a group of youths chanting "give us guns to kill Christians."

But this incident is not just about one misguided youth. It is a symptom of a deeper rot that we have been too polite to name. JIBWIS has rushed to condemn the video and distance itself from Maradun, insisting that violence is "foreign" to its teachings. That is the standard playbook: disavow the act, hand over the suspect, and carry on as if nothing has happened.

Yet the chant did not emerge from a vacuum. It emerged from a rhetorical culture that senior figures within the organisation have helped cultivate, one that routinely draws a sharp, dehumanising line between "believers" and "infidels."

When a top JIBWIS leader can publicly describe Christians as infidels and urge followers to "show them their limit," a 22-year-old in a brown uniform might reasonably conclude that chanting about killing them is not a transgression but a badge of piety.

And let us not pretend that JIBWIS is a purely indigenous, self-funded charity. Its historical roots are firmly planted in the Wahhabi-Salafi missionary enterprise bankrolled by Saudi Arabia. The organisation's essential texts include treatises by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab himself.

This is not guilt by association; it is a documented ideological lineage. The Saudi state exports a rigid, exclusivist theology that has destabilised parts of the Middle East and Africa, and JIBWIS is one of its most organised local franchises.

What is most disturbing is the organisational capacity on display. These were not random boys with sticks. They were uniformed, drilled, and marching in formation. JIBWIS runs a nationwide volunteer structure (the Agaji) that can be mobilised at short notice. The Shi'a have their own disciplined processions.

Our northern religious bodies are not just prayer groups; they are parallel security architectures waiting for a trigger. If Nigeria slid into anarchy tomorrow, I have no doubt that some of these groups would not be scrambling for weapons, they would already have them, or know exactly where to get them. The only reason Maradun's chant was not lethal is that he did not yet have a gun. That is a chillingly low bar for national security.

The arrest of one youth is not justice; it is a fig leaf. The real questions remain unanswered: Who radicalised him? What literature is distributed in JIBWIS study circles? How many other uniformed youths have been drilled in similar chants? And why does it take a viral video for the authorities to act, when the rhetoric that inspired it has been hiding in plain sight for years?

We need a serious investigation that goes beyond the individual and examines the institutional ecosystem that produced him. We need to hold religious leaders accountable for the words they preach, not just the acts they condemn after the fact. And we need to stop pretending that "official non-violence" is a sufficient safeguard when the grassroots are being fed a steady diet of contempt for non-Muslims.

I am not amused. None of us should be. This was not a joke, and it was not an isolated act of youthful exuberance. It was a warning shot, fired without a gun, for now. If we ignore it, the next time the chant may be accompanied by the real thing.

By Abdullahi Hamza