The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, has issued a stark call for the regulation of social media in Nigeria, decrying its misuse, especially by religious scholars, as a grave peril to the nation's peace, unity, and mutual respect, amid fears that unchecked online platforms are amplifying hatred and misinformation in an already fractured society.
Speaking through the Emir of Zazzau, Ahmad Nuhu Bamalli, at a high-level summit of Northern Ulamas in Kaduna on Wednesday, the Sultan, who also serves as President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), described social media as an escalating "threat to national security."
"Social media must also be regulated because it is increasingly being used to spread division and hatred," he emphasized, urging Islamic clerics to exercise wisdom and restraint in their digital conduct to model responsible use.
The gathering, attended by traditional rulers, lawmakers, and prominent scholars, focused on tackling insecurity and moral erosion in Northern Nigeria, with the Sultan warning that irresponsible online behavior is testing the country's fragile cohesion.
The Sultan's remarks echo his earlier, more incendiary label of social media as a "terrorist organisation" in April 2025, where he charged security agencies to crack down on fake news proliferation that sows discord from the comfort of users' homes.
In September, he further linked unregulated platforms to the erosion of family values and societal discipline, blaming them alongside corruption for weakening Nigeria's moral fabric.
This latest intervention aligns with longstanding concerns, including his 2021 plea at a security summit in Abuja to emulate global models of regulation without outright bans, noting, "We’ve seen it happen all over the world. Why can’t Nigeria borrow from that?"
Renowned cleric Sheikh Ahmad Abubakar Gumi, speaking at the same event, attributed Northern insecurity to poverty, ignorance, and foreign exploitation of uneducated herders, reinforcing the need for collective action beyond digital curbs.
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