The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, has told politicians to stop using stolen public funds to sponsor people on religious pilgrimages to Mecca and Jerusalem.
Speaking in Abuja at a Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) meeting on Wednesday, the traditional ruler said God does not accept worship funded by corruption. He urged religious leaders to work closely with anti-corruption agencies to tackle systemic corruption across the country.
The Sultan challenged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to go after corrupt individuals without worrying about their political standing or religious background.
He insisted that law enforcement agencies must work free of political interference and ignore calls to shield pastors or imams from prosecution.
“You cannot steal money and send people to Jerusalem or Mecca with corrupt funds and think God will accept your deeds…God is not corrupt, so you cannot use corrupt money for Hajj or anything else.”
The Sultan also urged law enforcement to ignore religious affiliations when investigating crime.
“When someone is facing the law, do not tell me he is the pastor of so-and-so church or the chief imam of so-and-so mosque. We do not want to hear that.”
During the meeting, Prof. Adedibu Ojerinde, Chairman of the Interfaith Anti-Corruption Advisory Committee, presented an Interfaith Anti-Corruption Manual developed alongside the EFCC. The project encourages imams and pastors to use their weekly sermons to speak out against cybercrime, money laundering, and public theft.
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