The Concerned Christian Youth Forum (CCYF) has strongly condemned a new policy by the Niger State Government under Governor Umar Bago, which mandates religious preachers to submit their sermon notes for government approval before public delivery.
In a statement signed by its convener, Paul James Adama, and made available to journalists, the group described the law as “ill-thought, ill-advised, anti-religious, discriminatory, oppressive and preposterous.”
According to CCYF, the policy amounts to religious censorship and represents a gross violation of the constitutional rights of Nigerians to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion as enshrined in Sections 38 and 39 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The forum further cited international instruments such as Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief (1981), all of which guarantee freedom of religion and prohibit discrimination on religious grounds.
“Religion is an ultra-sensitive matter in our nation as in most parts of the world, and so, it is expected of every right-thinking and well-meaning government to handle religious matters with judiciousness and caution,” the statement read.
Beyond the religious concerns, CCYF accused the Niger State Government of neglecting its core responsibilities, particularly in addressing the state’s developmental challenges. They highlighted alarming statistics, including a poverty rate of over 64%, widespread lack of access to basic infrastructure such as electricity, healthcare, clean water, and education, as well as an adult literacy rate of just 38.1% as of 2022, far below the national average of 63.16%.
The group argued that worsening insecurity in the state could be directly linked to poverty and underdevelopment, stressing that the government should focus on people-oriented policies rather than “diversionary tactics” like sermon approval laws.
“Formulating policies to enhance the economic prospects of the state and lift people out of poverty should be the major focus of any right-thinking government, not resorting to irrelevant and inappropriate laws,” CCYF stated.
The forum reaffirmed its commitment to religious tolerance and denounced all forms of inflammatory preaching but insisted that mandatory licensing and sermon vetting is unconstitutional and unjust.
They called on the Niger State Government to immediately withdraw the law in the interest of good governance, peace, justice, and respect for the rule of law.
“At this point, we join other well-meaning voices both within and outside the state as well as across religious divides in denouncing this obnoxious, oppressive, repressive and retrograde law,” the statement concluded.
