WorldStage— The Zamfara State Police Command has arrested a young man featured in a viral video inciting sectarian violence and threatening mass casualties against Christian worshippers.
The suspect, identified as Umar Ibrahim Gandi Maradun, sparked widespread national outrage after appearing in a video clip demanding firearms to launch deadly attacks in Plateau and Enugu states.
The clip, which circulated rapidly across TikTok, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter), showed the suspect dressed in the khaki uniform of the Jama’atu Izalatil Bidi’a Wa’ikamatus Sunnah (JIBWIS) Yan Agaji youth volunteer group.
Standing alongside pupils from two local Islamic schools in the Maradun Local Government Area, the suspect led a crowd in a disturbing, rhythmic chant: “Give me an AK-47, and I will go to Enugu and Jos every Sunday to kill arna (infidels) while they are praying… that is the training, that is the Sunnah.”
The video also featured participants mimicking the sounds of rapid gunfire.
The highly provocative footage triggered immediate alarm among civil society organizations and Christian groups, who warned that such unchecked hate speech has historically paved the way for real-world bloodshed and terrorist recruitment in Nigeria.
Responding swiftly to the public outcry, the leadership of JIBWIS initially apprehended Maradun within the community before handing him over to law enforcement authorities for a formal investigation.
Confirming the development on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, the Zamfara State Commissioner of Police, Muhammad Bello, stated that intelligence units were deployed immediately to track down the individual and establish the exact circumstances surrounding the recording.
Commissioner Bello emphasized that the command remains fully committed to maintaining public order and protecting all residents of the state, regardless of their religious or ethnic affiliations.
Meanwhile, Islamic scholars and community leaders across the country have roundly condemned the video.
Prominent voices urged the public to refrain from retaliatory rhetoric, stressing that the extremist assertions made by a single individual do not reflect the peaceful tenets of mainstream Islam practiced by millions.
Maradun remains in police custody in Gusau, where investigators are profiling his background and checking for potential links to wider radical networks.
He is expected to face formal charges related to incitement, cyber-stalking, and promoting sectarian terrorism once preliminary investigations are concluded.
