More than 50 Muslim and Christian leaders signed an interfaith peace accord in Abuja on August 12, formally launching a new body aimed at promoting religious harmony across Nigeria. The signing ceremony, organised by the Muslim World League, a Saudi Arabia-based Islamic non-governmental organisation, brought together clerics, government officials, and traditional leaders from across the country.
Government and Religious Leaders Unite at Signing Ceremony
Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin represented President Bola Tinubu at the event, alongside three northern state governors. According to Reuters Africa, Nigeria's population of over 200 million is roughly split between a predominantly Muslim north and a largely Christian south, with other communities practising traditional religions. That divide has long shaped the country's politics and security landscape.
The accord arrives at a politically sensitive moment. Ahead of the January 2027 general elections, religion is expected to again feature prominently in national debate. Tinubu's ruling All Progressives Congress is fielding a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket, as it did in 2023, departing from Nigeria's longstanding tradition of balancing the two main faiths on a joint presidential ticket.
Religious Tensions and Extremist Violence Context
Islamist groups including Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province have carried out attacks across the country for more than 15 years, killing thousands. Their activities have been concentrated mainly in the majority-Muslim northeast, and analysts and rights groups note that Muslims have made up the vast majority of the victims, though Christians have also been killed.
Religious tension was thrust into the international spotlight last November when US President Donald Trump described Nigeria as a "disgraced country" and threatened military action over what he claimed was the targeting of Christians by "Islamic Terrorists." No reference to those remarks appeared in any of the official statements issued at the signing ceremony, though both the government and various groups have taken steps to demonstrate security progress since Trump's comments.
Faith Leaders Describe Accord as Turning Point
Muslim World League Secretary-General Mohammad Al-Issa said both faiths had shown genuine enthusiasm to "turn a new page." He acknowledged the damage done by extremist ideology, saying: "We do not deny that extremist ideas have harmed everyone; all have been affected by it."
John Praise Daniel, chairman of the Northern Christian Religious Leaders' Assembly, said he hoped the accord would reduce inflammatory language from clerics. "No hate speech, and no disrespect for other religious groups, no calling of people as infidels," he said.
Khalid Abubakar, secretary-general of Jama'atu Nasri Islam, added: "It is not a call to leave your own religion, but a cooperation of working together in harmony."
At the opening of the two-day conference, Jibrin said: "The government is determined to make sure that we remain united as a country, despite our differences, whatever the differences may be."
Presidency Clarifies Tinubu's Past Accord Signing
Legit.ng earlier reported that the presidency has said that Bishop Matthew Hassan-Kukah of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto's claim that President Bola Tinubu did not sign the peace accord ahead of the 2023 presidential election was false. Bayo Onanuga, the special adviser to the president on information and strategy, made the clarification in a tweet adding that President Tinubu signed the two peace accords ahead of the poll.
