Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. (Romans 12:14)
A video that spread across Nigeria on Monday shows a young man in the uniform of JIBWIS, the Izala Islamic movement, surrounded by Islamiyya schoolchildren, chanting for rifles. "Give us AK-47s," he says in substance, "to go to Enugu on Sunday and kill the infidels." By Tuesday afternoon the Zamfara State Police Command had the 22-year-old in custody, JIBWIS had disowned him, and the Christian Association of Nigeria had demanded that the security services find out who was behind the chant and who else was in the frame.
Here is what has been established, and what remains to be answered.
Picture: the viral video as broadcast by AIT. Credit: Africa Independent Television.
What the video shows
The clip, recorded on Friday 23 October in Maradun, a town in Zamfara State about 120 kilometres from Gusau, shows a man in the uniform of the JIBWIS First Aid Group, the movement's uniformed volunteer wing, leading a chant while pupils from two Islamiyya schools, Nurul Islam and Akidatul Sahiha, stand with him. Police say it was filmed as he and others made their way to the Aliyu Ibn Abi Thalib mosque, where they were to provide security during Friday prayers.
Accounts of the words differ slightly between outlets, but agree on the substance: a call for AK-47 rifles so that the group could travel to Enugu on Sunday and attack those he called infidels, with Jos and Plateau State also named. The Christian Association of Nigeria understood it as a threat against Christians at Sunday worship. The involvement of children in the chant was, in CAN's words, a particular concern.
The video circulated on social media on Monday 26 October and was broadcast by AIT.
The arrest
The Commissioner of Police in Zamfara State, A. M. Bello, told a press briefing in Gusau on Tuesday that the man in the video is Umar Ibrahim Gandi Maradun, aged 22, a native of Maradun who joined JIBWIS in 2025 and had recently gained admission to study mass communication at Zamfara State University.
The command said it contacted JIBWIS's national and state leadership as soon as the video emerged. The organisation disassociated itself from him and from the video, apprehended him and handed him to the police. He is being investigated for incitement to violence, disturbance of public peace and criminal intimidation under sections 77, 78 and 380(b) of the Penal Code Law of Zamfara State, and the commissioner said he would be charged before a court if the evidence supported it.
"The Zamfara State Police Command remains resolute in its duty to uphold the law, protect lives and property, defend the rights of all citizens without discrimination, and work with relevant stakeholders to sustain peace and security throughout Zamfara State," Bello said. He urged religious leaders, parents and school authorities to promote tolerance, and asked the public to stay calm and not circulate unverified material.
As Nigerian law requires, the suspect is presumed innocent until a court decides otherwise.
JIBWIS disowns him
JIBWIS, the Jama'atu Izalatil Bid'ah Wa Iqamatus Sunnah, is one of the largest Sunni organisations in West Africa, a Salafi movement founded in Jos in 1978 by Sheikh Ismaila Idris. Its national chairman, Sheikh Abdullahi Bala Lau, condemned the video and called on the Department of State Services, the police and other agencies "to immediately investigate the incident, identify those responsible and ensure that anyone found culpable is brought to justice in accordance with the law."
He "categorically dissociated JIBWIS from the inflammatory statements, stressing that such expressions of violence, intimidation and threats against any community are completely alien to the principles, teachings and objectives upon which the organisation was established," and pointed out that "wearing the JIBWIS First Aid Group uniform or appearing among its members does not automatically mean an individual is acting on behalf of the organisation or with its authorisation." He suggested the incident could be "a deliberate attempt by individuals or external interests to misrepresent the organisation and damage its longstanding reputation", and cited the movement's part in an interfaith conference of Christian leaders and Muslim scholars in Abuja.
CAN: a denial is not an investigation
The president of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, was blunt. "The threats are chilling and utterly unacceptable. No Nigerian should have to fear for their life because of their faith or face the prospect of violence simply for gathering to worship God. Such threats must not be dismissed as mere chants or treated as harmless displays of youthful exuberance."
CAN asked the DSS and the police to establish where and when the video was recorded, to identify everyone involved and to "determine whether others organised or facilitated the activity", to assess the credibility of the threat, and to protect churches in Enugu, Jos and elsewhere. It acknowledged the JIBWIS disavowal but added: "The denial of responsibility by any organisation cannot replace an independent investigation into the identities of those involved, the origin of the video and the circumstances surrounding the chants."
"Nigeria has endured too much violence, bloodshed and distrust to treat threats of this nature lightly," Okoh said. "Allowing such conduct to go unchallenged would send a dangerous message that threats against citizens on religious grounds can be made without consequence." He urged Christians to stay calm, vigilant and law-abiding, and warned against any retaliation. Amnesty International Nigeria also called for an investigation.
Why a chant in Zamfara matters in Enugu and Jos
The words were not chosen at random. Jos, the Plateau State capital, has buried Christians killed in attacks on its villages for twenty years; Enugu, in the Christian south-east, is a city where a threat to shoot worshippers on a Sunday lands on families who remember the 2022 Owo church massacre two states away. A young man in Zamfara chanting for rifles may be a fool rather than a plot, but Nigeria has learned at great cost what happens when such words are shrugged off.
Two things can be true at once. JIBWIS, for all its hard-line theology, has for decades been among the more peaceable Islamic movements in Nigeria, and its chairman's swift repudiation and the handing over of the suspect deserve to be noted. And CAN is right that a chant taught to children, in uniform, at a mosque, needs more than a statement: it needs the facts.
What the Bible asks of us
Jesus told his followers to expect this: "You will be hated by all for my name's sake" (Luke 21:17). He also gave the only response that breaks the cycle: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:44). Paul, who had once breathed threats of murder against the church himself (Acts 9:1), wrote: "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them" (Romans 12:14).
So pray for Umar Ibrahim Gandi Maradun, that a man who called for rifles would meet the Christ whose people he threatened, as Saul did. Pray for the children who were taught to chant with him. Pray for the churches of Enugu and Jos this Sunday, for the police and the DSS to do their work honestly, and for JIBWIS's leaders to keep the promise of their statement. And remember Liatu Samuel Dawa, jailed in Borno for sharing her faith, when you pray for Nigeria's believers (Hebrews 13:3).
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Questions this article answers
What did the JIBWIS member say in the viral video?
In a video recorded on 23 October 2026 in Maradun, Zamfara State, a man in JIBWIS First Aid Group uniform, standing with Islamiyya schoolchildren, chanted for AK-47 rifles so the group could go to Enugu on Sunday and kill people he called infidels, with Jos and Plateau State also named. Christian leaders took it as a threat against Sunday worshippers.
Who was arrested over the video threatening Christians?
Umar Ibrahim Gandi Maradun, 22, a native of Maradun who joined JIBWIS in 2025. JIBWIS handed him to the Zamfara State Police, which announced the arrest on 27 October and is investigating incitement, disturbance of public peace and criminal intimidation under the Zamfara Penal Code.
What is JIBWIS?
Jama'atu Izalatil Bid'ah Wa Iqamatus Sunnah, known as Izala, is a Salafi Islamic movement founded in Jos in 1978 by Sheikh Ismaila Idris and now one of the largest Sunni organisations in Nigeria and neighbouring countries. Its uniformed volunteer wing is the First Aid Group.
What did JIBWIS say about the video?
Its national chairman, Sheikh Abdullahi Bala Lau, condemned the video, dissociated the movement from the threats, said wearing its uniform does not make someone its spokesman, asked the DSS and police to investigate and prosecute, and suggested the incident might be an attempt to smear the organisation.
What did the Christian Association of Nigeria demand?
CAN president Archbishop Daniel Okoh called the threats "chilling and utterly unacceptable" and asked the DSS and police to establish where and when the video was made, identify everyone involved, find out whether anyone organised or financed it, and protect churches in Enugu, Jos and elsewhere. He said a denial by JIBWIS cannot replace an independent investigation.
How should Christians respond?
Stay calm and vigilant, as CAN urged, and refuse retaliation. Pray for the churches threatened, for an honest investigation, and for the man arrested and the children with him, following Jesus' command to love enemies and pray for persecutors (Matthew 5:44; Romans 12:14).
Sources: the Zamfara State Police Command's briefing of 27 October 2026 as reported by TheNigeriaLawyer and Channels Television; JIBWIS's statement as reported by Premium Times and Vanguard; the Christian Association of Nigeria's statement as reported by The Whistler; AIT's broadcast of the video. The suspect has not been tried; details may change as the investigation proceeds.