Christian Youths Blast Gov Bago: Scrap Sermon Approval Policy, Tackle Niger Killings

The Niger State Governor, Umar Bago, has come under fire over a new policy mandating religious preachers to submit their sermons for government approval before delivering them.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the Concerned Christian Youth Forum (CCYF), through its Convener, James Paul Adama, condemned the directive as “anti-religious, retrogressive, oppressive, and a gross violation of fundamental human rights.”

The group argued that the policy amounts to religious censorship and violates Sections 38 and 39 of the 1999 Constitution, which safeguard freedom of thought, conscience, religion, and expression.

CCYF further noted that the law runs contrary to international conventions Nigeria has signed, including Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief (1981).

“Instead of drafting such ill-conceived and discriminatory laws, the Niger State government should concentrate on tackling poverty, insecurity, and underdevelopment,” the statement read.

‘Focus on Poverty and Security, Not Sermons’

The forum reminded the Bago administration that Niger State records one of the highest poverty rates in Nigeria, with more than 64 percent of its population living below the poverty line, yet the government is “busy stifling religious freedom.”

It urged the governor to channel his administration’s efforts into economic growth, improved education, healthcare, infrastructure, and addressing insecurity that has plagued communities across the state.

While clarifying that it does not support reckless or inciteful preaching, the CCYF insisted that subjecting sermons to government vetting is unjustifiable, dangerous, and a threat to peaceful coexistence.

The group, therefore, called on the Bago government to “immediately jettison the obnoxious law in the interest of peace, justice, good governance, and respect for constitutional and international provisions on religious freedom.”