Ex-Senate President Lawan Urges Muslims To Sanction Preachers Fueling Terrorism, Says ‘Killing Isn’t Justified In Islam’
Lawan Urges Muslim Community to Sanction Clerics Promoting Violence
February 10, 2026
Former Senate President Ahmad Lawan has called on Nigeria’s Muslim community to take responsibility for confronting and sanctioning clerics and preachers whose teachings encourage violence and terrorism, insisting that such ideologies have no foundation in Islam.
Lawan made the remarks on Tuesday during a plenary session of the Senate while addressing the growing insecurity and violent extremism affecting parts of the country.
He said the task of challenging extremist narratives should rest primarily with the Islamic community itself, rather than the government, which he noted may lack a full understanding of internal religious dynamics.
“Mr President, finally, let me say that the Islamic society, or the Islamic community, also has a responsibility here. Those who preach what is not Islam need to be dealt with by the Muslim community,” Lawan said.
He warned that failure to confront the distortion of Islamic teachings would only allow violence and instability to persist.
“If we allow people to preach what is not contained in the teachings, then we will continue to have this kind of situation,” he added.
The former Senate President explained that his appeal was intentionally directed at Muslims, stressing that adherents of the faith are better placed to recognise and counter dangerous indoctrination.
“That is why I am particularly addressing the Islamic community itself, not the government, because not everybody in government understands what happens within the faith. But we do, those of us who practise it. We should therefore work to ensure that people are protected from being unnecessarily indoctrinated,” he said.
Lawan emphasised that violence and terrorism are incompatible with Islamic principles, describing those who engage in such acts as having no place in the religion.
“Those who cause mayhem have no place in Islam. We all know that if you kill one person unjustifiably, it is as if you have killed the whole world. That is the judgment,” he stated.
He further rejected any justification for killing on religious grounds, regardless of the victim’s faith.
“In Islam, how can you kill anyone? Whether that person is a Muslim or a non-Muslim, it is never justified. We must therefore ensure that people preach what is right and what is acceptable in the teachings,” Lawan said.
Concluding his remarks, he offered condolences to victims of recent violence in Kwara State, particularly the Emir of Kaiama and residents of the area.
Lawan’s comments come amid heightened national concern over terrorism, religious extremism and communal violence, with increasing calls for religious leaders and communities to take a more active role in preventing radicalisation.
Last Wednesday, Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq disclosed that at least 75 local Muslims were killed in Woro community, Kaiama Local Government Area, after refusing to submit to terrorists promoting what he described as a strange and misguided doctrine.
The governor made the disclosure during a visit to Kaiama alongside senior security officials and members of his cabinet, following the attack that left the community in mourning.
According to eyewitness accounts, however, the death toll from the attack may be significantly higher, with reports suggesting that at least 162 people were killed.