A shocking set of leaked minutes from a confidential meeting of Islamic leaders in Bauchi has sparked nationwide outrage after exposing what appears to be a coordinated plan to launch full-scale jihadist movement in parts of Northern Nigeria.
According to the classified documents, the secret meeting, allegedly chaired by a former Minister of Communication Technology, and attended by key representatives from Plateau, Bauchi, Kaduna, and Niger States, under the umbrella of Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), outlined a disturbing blueprint aimed at “liberating” Kaduna from Christian political leadership and “reclaiming” Jos, the Plateau State capital, as an Islamic stronghold.
The minutes, which detail a militant agenda under the guise of religious revival, accused the former Plateau State Governor, Jonah Jang, of allegedly orchestrating what they termed a “genocide” against Muslims.
The report claimed over 7,000 Muslims were killed, including what it dubbed as “the widespread destruction of Islamic settlements and properties during his tenure”.
The document equally goes further to recommend hardline actions, including the demolition of Churches, enforcement of worship restrictions, confining Christians to specific zones, and the outright rejection of democratic participation by Muslims, which it described as “a Western corruption of Islamic governance.”
In what has been seen to be an extremist declaration of war, participants purportedly resolved that “any Muslim cooperating with government authorities or engaging in interfaith dialogue would be branded a traitor and marked for elimination”.
Also, a separate manifesto uncovered from the same meeting—titled “The Liberation of Kaduna State” condemned the leadership of the then Christian Deputy Governor, Mr. Patrick Yakowa, labeling his position as “unacceptable” and vowing to ensure that Muslims maintain political control in Kaduna State.
Security analysts and interfaith observers have described the revelations as a critical link in understanding the roots of protracted religious and ethnic violence across the Middle Belt.
They warn that the documents, if verified, exposes a deeply entrenched and organized religious agenda that may have fueled years of sectarian killings, displacement, and destruction in Kaduna and Plateau States.
The authenticity of the leaked minutes remains under investigation by relevant authorities, but their content underscores the growing concerns about religious extremism and its impact on Nigeria’s worsening crisrs.
Recall that sectarian violence pushed by hard stand Islamists assumed it’s crescendo during the right years rule of the late President Muhammadu Buhari, who was named as it’s negotiator during the amnesty offered by the Goodluck Jonathan administration.
For the right years of Buhari’s administration, his actions, policies and governance approach saw several so-called repentant Boko Haram fighters recruited in large numbers into the nation’s security forces.
Also, extremist Islamists controlled key and strategic portfolios in sensitive offices, ministries and pastatals, and almost Islamised all sectors of the Nigerian civil service.
Nepotism was at its all time high, while a culture of stealing of public funds and reckless and outright support to militant herdsmen was passed off as mere “farmers/herders clash”.
The recent threat by the U.S. President, Donald Trump, to send ground and air troops to liberate Christians, whom he noted, were being killed in their numbers in Nigeria, appears to have woken the Nigerian government to the grave dangers being harped on for decades.
President Bola Tinubu had immediately after the Trump’s ultimatum, convened an emergency meeting with the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the newly-appointed Service Chiefs and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), who also met separately with the NSA.
