Nigerians have called for a security investigation after a viral video allegedly showed a young man leading a group of boys in a chant threatening to shoot Christians attending church services in Enugu State.
The footage, circulating on X and Facebook, shows the boys, dressed in uniforms associated with Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah Wa Iqamatis Sunnah (JIBWIS), marching along a street as they sing in Hausa.
According to the translation accompanying the video, the chant calls for an AK-47 rifle to enable the singer to travel to Enugu and attack people worshipping in churches on Sundays. The lyrics also reportedly describe the state as a land of “infidels” and include sounds imitating gunfire.
In the footage, the boy is heard saying, according to the accompanying translation, “Give me AK to go to Enugu, inside the infidels on every Sunday while they are happy and clapping, and open fire on them.”
The alleged threat has triggered concerns about religious intolerance, the safety of worshippers and the involvement of children in rhetoric promoting violence against people of another faith.
The uniforms worn by the boys are associated with the First Aid Group, the humanitarian and volunteer service arm of JIBWIS, whose members are commonly known as ’Yan Agaji. However, the clothing alone does not establish that the individuals are registered members of the organisation or that its leadership authorised the activity.
An X user identified as Lere Olayinka called for immediate intervention, questioning the alleged use of religion to justify threats against others.
“How can anyone openly make such threatening statements in the name of religion?” Olayinka asked, tagging the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police Force and urging them to investigate the footage.
Another user, Mato, described the alleged chant as “pure barbarism”, arguing that people should respect religious differences rather than refer to adherents of other faiths as infidels.
Lekdung expressed concern about what the user viewed as a broader problem of religious intolerance in Northern Nigeria.
“It’s already clear and obvious now how religious intolerance continues to flourish in the north,” the user wrote.
Babankowa called on security agencies and the Izala sect to investigate the video and take appropriate action against anyone found responsible.
“This is un-Islamic. I called upon Authorities and the Izala sect to investigate this boy and take necessary action,” the user wrote.
The user also urged Nigerians to prioritise national unity over religious divisions, adding, “At this very point in time, Nigeria is more important than anything.”
Pandora Queen, who identified as a Muslim, also condemned the conduct allegedly depicted in the video, saying it did not represent Islamic teachings.
“As a Muslim, I condemn this behaviour, and I call on the appropriate authorities to take action on these young men. This is not Islam or what Islam teaches us,” the user wrote.
However, some reactions cautioned against generalising about a religious group or region based on the alleged conduct of individuals in the footage.
Faysarhl criticised what the user described as a tendency to associate wrongdoing by people from Northern Nigeria with Islam while applying a different standard to people from other parts of the country.
“Why are you people so quick to call Islam whenever a northerner does something, and reverse is never the case when an easterner is doing something wrong,” the user wrote.
The video has renewed public discussion about the need to distinguish between individual conduct and the teachings or positions of religious organisations, particularly where footage involving children is circulated online and prompts accusations against identifiable groups.
As of the time of reporting, the identities and location of the young man and the boys had not been independently verified. Their actual affiliation with JIBWIS and whether the activity was authorised by the organisation also remained unclear.
The circumstances surrounding the recording and the authenticity of the translation accompanying the footage could not be independently established. No conclusion can therefore be drawn about the individuals involved or the organisation based solely on the video.
West Trybe reports that calls for an investigation reflect growing concerns about the potential consequences of religiously framed threats in a country where freedom of worship and peaceful coexistence remain important national issues. Establishing the identities of those involved, verifying the translation and determining the circumstances in which the footage was recorded would be necessary to establish the facts and ensure that any appropriate action is based on evidence.
