The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, has warned politicians and public office holders against using stolen public funds to sponsor people on religious pilgrimages, saying corrupt money cannot be justified by its use for religious purposes.
The Sultan gave the warning on Wednesday in Abuja while speaking at the opening of a stakeholders’ meeting organised by the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council, NIREC, under the theme “Shared Sacred Flourishing in Nigeria.”
Abubakar urged religious leaders to play a more active role in the fight against corruption and to work with anti-graft agencies to discourage the misuse of public resources.
He said politicians should not take money obtained through corruption and use it to sponsor pilgrims to Mecca or Jerusalem in the expectation that the religious purpose would make the funds acceptable. He argued that religious acts should not be financed with money obtained through unlawful means.
The Sultan also called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to pursue suspected corruption cases without regard to political, religious or personal connections. He said people suspected of wrongdoing should be allowed to face the legal process regardless of whether they are politicians, religious figures, relatives or acquaintances of influential people.
Abubakar further urged the EFCC to carry out its responsibilities without political interference. His comments placed responsibility on both public institutions and religious leaders to support efforts aimed at reducing corruption.
The Sultan also used the occasion to stress the importance of cooperation between Christians and Muslims. He described NIREC as an important platform for dialogue between the two major religious communities and said regular engagement was necessary for peace, stability and national development.
He urged religious leaders to promote genuine understanding rather than simply encouraging tolerance between different faiths. He also cautioned clerics against using their platforms to inflame political divisions, particularly during election periods.
The meeting also featured discussions on an Interfaith Anti-Corruption Manuals Project involving the EFCC and religious leaders. Prof. Adedibu Ojerinde, chairman of the Interfaith Anti-Corruption Advisory Committee, said the initiative was designed to use Christian and Islamic teachings to strengthen public awareness about corruption and ethical conduct. The manuals have been expanded to address contemporary issues including youth-related vulnerabilities, cybercrime and money laundering.
The Sultan’s remarks come amid continuing concerns about accountability in government-funded religious programmes. EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede separately told religious leaders that the commission had previously investigated Christian and Muslim pilgrimage boards and alleged that significant portions of government funds released for pilgrim sponsorship had been misappropriated in at least one case. That allegation is separate from the Sultan’s remarks and does not establish wrongdoing by any particular politician or pilgrimage programme.
The Sultan's intervention therefore goes beyond the issue of pilgrimage sponsorship, linking religious leadership, public accountability and the enforcement of anti-corruption laws. His message was that religious affiliation or charitable activity should not be used to shield anyone from lawful investigation.
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