Sharia council alleges exclusion of major Islamic scholars, bodies from Boko Haram de-radicalisation

The Supreme Council of Sharia in Nigeria (SCSN) has alleged that that the Federal Government was excluding major Islamic organisations and stakeholders from the de-radicalisation of Boko Haram prisoners in its custody.

The body made the allegation at the weekend after a well-attended closed-door meeting with the King Abdulah Bin AbdulAzeez International Centre for Interreligious and intercultural Dialogue in Kaduna.

In an interview with newsmen, the Assistant Secretary for the state chapter of SCSN, Dr. Awwal Faruq Abdusalam, contended that the right people to counter the ideologies and narratives of the captured insurgents were the Ulamas (Islamic scholars) and Islamic organisations since the extremists were “claiming to be Muslims and citing scriptures from the Islamic faith to unleash terror.”

He said the meeting was to ensure the successful rehabilitation of the terrorists by the government for their onward reintegration into the society.

His words: “We decided to meet and throw an agenda – a roadmap on how the Muslim Ummah leadership will get involved in this process.

“What we realise is that these major stakeholders were completely excluded from the process. Although I don’t know if some are contacted at the very local level. And that is why our council, which is an umbrella of all mainstream Islamic organisations in the country, is concerned. Looking at the composition of the meeting, you can see that it cuts across the federation.”

He went on: “Mind you the Muslim Ummah (people) are the most hit by the Boko Haram insurgency in terms of losses of lives and property as well as displacement.

“The active insurgents have been underground in the last three to four years. The Federal Government has made good progress in the war against insurgency, and established the de-radicalisation process, mainly to rehabilitate Boko Haram prisoners who defected from the group. But unfortunately, the Ulamas and Islamic organisations have been completely excluded from the project.”