A legal practitioner, Mohammed Danjuma, Esq., has filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Minna, accusing the Niger State Government of violating citizens’ fundamental rights through a controversial policy requiring religious leaders to submit sermons for government approval before delivery.
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Danjuma, based in Lafia, Nasarawa State, filed the motion on notice on behalf of himself as the applicant, listing as respondents the Governor of Niger State, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, the Commissioner of Police, the Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and the State Security Service (SSS).
The suit, docketed under an unspecified number but dated earlier this week, invokes Sections 33 (right to life), 36 (fair hearing), 39 (freedom of expression), and 46 (enforcement of rights) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), alongside the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act.
At the heart of the case is a September 2025 directive issued by Governor Mohammed Umar Bago, mandating clerics in churches and mosques to obtain licenses before preaching and to pre-submit their sermons for vetting by state authorities. The policy, aimed at curbing hate speech and promoting religious harmony, has sparked widespread backlash from religious groups and civil society, who argue it infringes on constitutional rights to freedom of religion and expression.
In his five-point relief, Danjuma seeks:
- A declaration that the vetting, censoring, and screening of sermons is unconstitutional, illegal, and void.
- A declaration that the governor’s directive to security agencies—including the Police, Army, NSCDC, and SSS—to enforce the policy is similarly invalid.
- A declaration that the licensing requirement for preaching constitutes a gross violation of citizens’ rights.
- A perpetual injunction restraining the respondents and their agents from implementing or enforcing the policy.
- Any further orders the court may deem fit to make.
The motion, filed under the inherent jurisdiction of the court, was dated and submitted in 2025. The court has yet to fix a date for the hearing of the application.
This legal action follows an earlier petition Danjuma addressed to the governor in mid-September, where he described the policy as “unconstitutional and un-Islamic,” demanding its immediate withdrawal. The lawyer argued that the measure reflects “authoritarian censorship” and could suppress legitimate religious discourse.
Governor Bago, however, defended the initiative in a public address, describing it as a necessary measure to prevent inflammatory rhetoric amid growing ethno-religious tensions in the state. “It’s about ensuring peace,” he stated, noting that similar frameworks exist in other countries.
Critics, including Danjuma, insist that the policy disproportionately targets Muslim and Christian clerics, undermining Nigeria’s secular constitutional structure. Religious bodies have since mobilized against the move, with some mosques and churches reportedly suspending Friday and Sunday services in protest.
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