Shia leader travels from Nigeria to India for medical treatment

Detained Nigerian Shia leader Ibrahim el-Zakzaky and his wife have flown out of the country to get medical treatment in India, according to supporters and lawyers.

Held since 2015, el-Zakzaky, the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), was last week granted bail by a court in Kaduna state in order to seek treatment abroad.

He and his wife departed on Monday from Abuja's international airport for New Delhi on an Emirates flight, according to Harun Magashi, a member of the pair's legal team.

"They boarded the plane at 5:50pm," he told Al Jazeera.

In recent weeks, IMN members had launched a series of demonstrations in the Nigerian capital to demand the release of their couple's from prison to receive medical treatment.

Several people were killed and more than 50 IMN members were arrested in clashes with police that also saw the killing of a journalist and a police officer, as well as the closure of the National Assembly building in Abuja.

"The health of Sheikh Zakzaky and his wife, Malama Zeenatudeen, is deteriorating. They are suffering from various health complications with gun injuries on their bodies since 2015," Mahdi Garba, a member of the Shia movement, told Al Jazeera.

El-Zakzaky and his wife had been held in a detention facility since December 2015, when security forces killed more than 300 of IMN members in a three-day operation in Zaria, according to human rights groups.

A court in 2016 said el-Zakzaky should be released but authorities refused and have since filed charges against him including homicide, unlawful assembly, disruption of public peace and other offences. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Abdulhamid Bello, an IMN leader, told Al Jazeera on Tuesday afternoon that the movement's members were "overwhelmingly excited" about the trip to India.

"They're heading to New Delhi. Returning back to detention is a condition by the court but let us wait and see," Bello added.

After the Kaduna court last week ruled that the IMN leader be allowed to seek medical help, the Nigerian State Security Services immediately pledged to obey the ruling.

"Conformity with the order is in line with the Service's avowed commitment to the Rule of Law inherent in a democracy," spokesman Peter Afunanya said in a statement.

"Consequently, the service is liaising with relevant stakeholders to ensure compliance."

By Mercy Abang

Al Jazeera 

Related story: Shi'ite Muslim leader allowed to seak medical treatment abroad

Video - Why has Nigeria banned Shia Muslim group

Shi'ite Muslim leader allowed to seak medical treatment abroad

A Nigerian judge ruled on Monday that the detained leader of a banned Nigerian Shi’ite Muslim group could seek medical treatment abroad, after a series of protests calling for his release turned violent last month.

Nigeria banned the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) in July after a week of protests in which the group said at least 20 of its members were killed in police crackdowns. Police gave no death toll.

The group’s leader, Ibrahim Zakzaky, has been held since 2015 when government forces killed around 350 people in a storming of its compound and a nearby mosque. He has not been released despite a court order to that effect, and the IMN said his detention is illegal.

The judge in a court in the northwestern city of Kaduna granted Zakzaky and his wife leave to seek medical treatment in India under supervision of state officials.

Zakzaky’s lawyers have said that while in detention, Zakzaky lost an eye to advanced glaucoma and risks losing the other, while shrapnel lodged in his body since the 2015 storming of the IMN compound was causing lead poisoning.

The government says IMN incites violence, and a court has given the authorities permission to label it a terrorist organization. IMN denies it is violent, and says Zakzaky should be released in line with a December 2016 court order.

IMN is the largest Shi’ite organization in a country where around half of the population is Muslim, overwhelmingly Sunni.

Nigeria considers some Islamist movements to be a security threat after a decade combating the insurgency by Sunni Muslim militant group Boko Haram in which 30,000 people have been killed. The death of Boko Haram’s leader in custody was one of the events that set that group on a violent path. (Reporting by Garba Muhammad; Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Alexis Akwagyiram and Raissa Kasolowsky)

National Post


Related story: Video - Why has Nigeria banned Shia Muslim group

Clash between army and jihadists leaves dozens dead

Fierce clashes between a regional force and IS-affiliated fighters in northeast Nigeria left 25 soldiers and at least 40 jihadists dead, two military sources and a militia leader said Thursday.

Fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) group launched a dawn attack on Monday against a base near the town of Baga on Lake Chad, setting off fierce gun battles that killed 20 Nigerian and five Chadian troops, the sources said.

"The terrorists killed 20 Nigerian troops and five Chadian soldiers in the intense fight in which soldiers killed 47 of the terrorists," a military officer told AFP.

The head of a local anti-jihadist militia confirmed the military death toll and put ISWAP losses at "more than 40".

In a statement on Monday, the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) said 10 jihadists and a soldier were killed at the base while five troops were injured.

The MNJTF is a five-nation anti-military force headquartered in the Chadian capital N'djamena, comprising troops from Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin set up to fight jihadists in the Lake Chad region.

The military is known to downplay its losses in the fight against the jihadists.

The sources said that the jihadist raid on the base was repelled and the fleeing fighters were then met by a convoy of special forces bringing supplies from the regional capital Maiduguri.

"They ran into special forces who had been alerted by the troops in the base and more of the terrorists were killed in a brief encounter," a second military officer said.

ISWAP on Wednesday claimed that it had killed 15 soldiers in clashes near Baga.

The MNJTF base located four miles from Baga has been repeatedly attacked since 2014.

In December last year, ISWAP seized Baga and the base in an offensive that left several soldiers and militia fighters dead.

Although the MNJTF base was reclaimed weeks later, Baga and a separate naval base on Lake Chad remain under ISWAP control, according to locals and security sources.

The decade-long jihadist campaign of violence has killed some 27,000 people, displaced more than two million, and spilt into neighbouring countries.

ISWAP broke away from the main Boko Haram jihadist group in 2016 due to ideological differences.

AFP

Video - Why has Nigeria banned Shia Muslim group

Government labels Islamic Movement of Nigeria a 'terrorist' organisation. Nigeria's main Shia Muslim group has had a tumultuous few days. The Islamic Movement of Nigeria has been banned and labelled a terrorist organisation. Its leader, Ibrahim Zakzaky, as been in jail since 2015, when 350 of his followers were killed in confrontations with security forces. More supporters were killed in protests last week demanding his release. Observers say the government is handling the group in a similar way to Boko Haram, which turned violent a decade ago when its leader died in police custody. Could this latest crackdown provoke a new conflict?

Related story: Shia group in Nigeria banned after deadly clashes

Shia group in Nigeria banned after deadly clashes

The Nigerian government has banned a Shia group after a spate of deadly clashes at protests in the capital Abuja, and following a court decision allowing authorities to call it a "terrorist" organisation.

The office of President Muhammadu Buhari said in a statement on Sunday that the government "had to act" against the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), before the situation got out of control.

Tensions have risen between the authorities and IMN as demonstrations in Abuja to free pro-Iranian leader Ibrahim Zakzaky have descended into violence.

On Monday, a court in Kaduna State will decide on Zakzaky's application for bail to seek medical treatment abroad.

Punch newspaper reported on Saturday the government had secured a court order allowing it to prohibit the group's activities as "terrorism and illegality".

"Proscription of Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) has nothing to do with banning the larger numbers of peaceful and law-abiding Shia in the country from practising their religion, instead it was to discourage wanton violence, murder and willful destruction of public and private property," the presidency said in a statement.

"The banned organisation was taken over by extremists who didn't believe in peaceful protests and instead employed violence and arson, driving fear and undermining the rights of others and constituted authority."

The authorities still need to publish the court order in the state gazette and two newspapers for it to come into force, Punch said.

Last week, at least six protesters, a trainee journalist and a senior police officer were killed during the latest clashes.

The IMN, which emerged as a student movement in the late 1970s was inspired by the Islamic revolution in Iran, and has close ties in the Islamic republic.

The sect is often treated with hostility in Nigeria, especially in the predominantly Sunni Muslim north of the country, where religious elites are allied with Saudi Arabia.

Zakzaky was detained in December 2015 after violence during a religious procession. Rights groups say some 350 mostly unarmed Shia marchers were killed by the Nigerian army.

Concerns on Zakzaky's health

In recent months there have been almost daily marches by the IMN in the capital as concerns rise over Zakzaky's health.

The IMN on Sunday condemned the move to ban it as a "dangerous development" and insisted it would push on with protests until its leader was freed.

"You can never stop an ideology, you can never stop an idea, you can never stop our religion," senior member Yahiya Dahiru told a press conference in Abuja.

The Nigerian police this week vowed to crack down on "violent protests" by the group, with a heavy security presence visible across the capital city.

Zakzaky and his wife Zeenah Ibrahim have been in custody despite the federal high court ordering his release in 2016.

The government refused and filed fresh criminal charges, including homicide that is punishable by death.

Al Jazeera

Pastor in Nigeria Biodun Fatoyinbo steps down after rape allegations

A flamboyant pastor in Nigeria has stepped aside from his church after a celebrity photographer accused him of raping her twice before she turned 18.

Biodun Fatoyinbo denied the allegation by Busola Dakolo, who is married to popular musician Timi Dakolo.

He said he was taking "leave of absence from the pulpit" because it was the "right thing to do".

Ms Dakolo's allegation went viral on social media, with some saying it had triggered Nigeria's #MeToo moment.

The social media campaign has led to thousands of people sharing their stories of sexual abuse and harassment since 2017.

But women in socially conservative Nigeria have so far avoided speaking out, fearing a backlash or stigmatisation.

Nigeria has a huge Pentecostal Christian population and Pastor Fatoyinbo is the head pastor of the popular Commonwealth of Zion Assembly church in the capital, Abuja.

His church is one of the biggest and fastest growing in the country, especially among young people, says the BBC's Joshua Ajayi in Lagos.

In a video circulating on social media since last week, Ms Dakolo said she was raped by the pastor at her father's house early one morning, and the second time on a secluded road.

Her allegation led to protests on Sunday at different branches of Pastor Fatoyinbo's church. Protesters held placards saying: "Thou shall not rape."

The pastor said he was "absolutely innocent", but had decided to step down from the church after seeking "spiritual counsel" from Christian leaders around the world.

"This step enables me to submit to the concerns of my spiritual mentors as they consider all the issues that have been raised against me," he added in an Instagram post.

The development has caused shock and anger amongst followers of the pastor and supporters of Mrs Dakolo, our reporter says.


BBC

Trump's words used to defend killing of protesters by military in Nigeria

The Nigerian army appears to have used the words of President Trump to justify the killing of Islamic protesters.

On Friday (Nov. 2), the Nigerian army's official Twitter account tweeted a snippet of Trump's Thursday (Nov. 1) speech on immigration where he stated that the U.S. military should consider migrants throwing rocks as they would a rifle. The Nigerian army then went on to explain that they released the video to say "if President Trump can say rocks are as good as a rifle, who is Amnesty International?"

This came in response to growing scrutiny from human rights organizations, like Amnesty International, who've criticized the Nigerian government for its "horrific use of excessive force" when dealing with Muslim protestors. Days prior to the tweet, the Nigerian army fired bullets and tear gas into a crowd of Shai Muslims killing six protestors. This is not the first time conflicts between demonstrators — who routinely take to the streets to protest the imprisonment of Islamic Movement of Nigeria leader, Ibrahim Zakzaky — and armed forces have turned deadly.

"This violent crackdown on IMN protesters is unjustified and unacceptable," Amnesty International Nigerian Country Director, Osai Ojigho, said of the attacks. "They were perfectly within their rights to hold a religious procession and protest and there was no evidence they posed an imminent threat to life."

However, Trump is popular in Nigeria's Christian population for his talks against Islamic extremism. Using his controversial speech to justify their persecution of the IMN may help further sway the Nigerian popular opinion and invalidate the authority of Amnesty International.

The White House has yet to issue a response to the use of the president's comments.

Complex

Related stories: Video - Nigeria's Shi'ite Protests - death toll rises to 24

Nigeria arrests 400 Shia Muslims after deadly clashes

Video - Nigeria's Shi'ite Protests - death toll rises to 24

Cleric Ibrahim Zakzaky, leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria remains in jail as his supporters continue to face security forces in protests for his release. Protestors claim that 24 people have been killed in the latest confrontation but the army has refuted this saying only three people died. Hundreds of Shia Muslims were stopped from marching into the city centre where most government offices and the presidency is located.

Nigeria arrests 400 Shia Muslims after deadly clashes

Nigerian police have arrested 400 members of a Shia Muslim sect after days of deadly protests in the capital.

The pro-Iran Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) protesters demanded the release of their leader Ibraheem Zakzaky, in custody for 34 months.

The army admits that three people were killed in clashes in Abuja on Monday, but the IMN says that dozens died.

In 2016, a judicial inquiry found that the army had killed more than 300 Shia Muslims during clashes in the north.

It accused the army of using "excessive force" when trying to head off an alleged attempt to kill army chief Gen Tukur Buratai in Zaria, Kaduna state, in December 2015.

IMN leader Sheikh Zakzaky was arrested in the aftermath and held without charge until April 2018 when he accused in court of inciting violence.

No soldiers have been arrested, despite the judicial inquiry advising prosecutions.
'Dangerous weapons'

The army, which fired live rounds on Monday at the protesters, said the deaths came after the demonstrators tried to overrun a checkpoint.

The security forces also accuse the Shia protesters, who took to the streets of the capital for three days, of having 31 petrol bombs as well as other dangerous weapons.


. Shias are minority in Nigeria but their numbers are increasing
. The IMN, formed in the 1980s, is the main Shia group led by Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky
. They operate their own schools and hospitals in some northern states
. They have a history of clashes with the security forces
. The IMN is backed by Shia-dominated Iran and its members often go there to study
. Sunni jihadist group Boko Haram condemns Shias as heretics who should be killed.

BBC

Video - Islamic Movement of Nigeria continue protests despite Monday's killings

Shi'ite Muslims continued their demonstration in Abuja on Tuesday. Members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria are calling for the release of their leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky. On Monday, the military opened fire on a procession of I-M-N members heading to the Abuja demonstration. El-Zakzaky has been in prison since a security crackdown in 2015. His Islamic Movement of Nigeria has about 3-million followers. The group claims the soldiers killed at least 10 protesters on Monday. However, the army disputes this, saying only three people were killed as they marched on a military checkpoint. Thousands of demonstrators were allegedly blocking roads and throwing rocks when security forces opened fire.

Video - Nigerian army uses live rounds against Shiite protesters - 10 dead

At least 10 people were killed after the Nigerian army fired live bullets and teargas to disperse a group of Shiite protesters on the second day of demonstration by the group in the capital city of Abuja on Monday, a Shiite cleric told CNN.

Violence broke out after hundreds of Shiite protesters threw stones at the soldiers and commuters at a checkpoint, as they marched into the city, eyewitnesses told CNN.

"We fled from our vehicle into the bush where we hid for three hours. From there, we could hear gunshots and see Shiite protesters taking their members who were shot away. There were also bodies lying on the roads," Khalifa Bello said.

Another resident, Jude Faing, said vehicles were turned back amid the chaos as Shiite protesters dressed in symbolic black marched into the city causing traffic.

"People were shouting to everyone to go back, and as there was shootings between soldiers and Shiite members at the army checkpoint, so I ran back home," Faing told CNN.

CNN has asked the Nigerian military for comment on the shooting claim but has not received a response.

The unrest comes after the military said three members of the Islamic group and two soldiers were injured following a clash with Shiite protesters on Saturday.

Army spokesman James Myam, in a statement Sunday, said the troops only shot at the protesters on Saturday to "extricate" themselves from the area after the clashes turned violent.

Myam alleged that members of the group attacked a military convoy traveling with ammunition and weapons on the outskirts of the city, forcing the soldiers to engage them.

Islamic Movement of Nigeria spokesman Ibrahim Musa told CNN at least 10 of its members were killed on Monday when they encountered a roadblock from the soldiers who opened fire at them.

"Our members were marching peacefully for three hours while observing the Arbaeen March as will be done by all Shiite members in Karbala in Iraq and other countries," Musa said.

Shiite protesters are also demanding their leader's freedom, he added.

Ibrahim Zakzaky has been in the military detention since his arrest in 2015, following a crackdown by the country's security forces on members of the sect.

CNN

Curfew declared in Kaduna after violent clash leaves 55 people dead

Nigerian authorities declared a 24-hour curfew Sunday in Kaduna after clashes between young Christians and Muslims left at least 55 people dead.

Governor Nasir El-Rufai posted a statement on Facebook from his spokesman stating: "The state government has declared a curfew in Kaduna metropolis and its environs to manage the situation."

"The governor appealed to all residents to do their best to uphold peace," the statement added.

Kaduna was plunged into communal violence this week after fighting broke out between Hausa Muslim and Adara Christian youths in the town of Kasuwan Magani's market following a dispute among wheelbarrow porters.

'RETALIATORY ATTACKS'

Two people were said to have been killed in the initial market fracas on Thursday. The violence then dramatically escalated when Adara youths later attacked Hausa residents, burning homes, and killing dozens.

"Most of the killings were done in the second attack which took the Hausa community off guard," Muhammadu Bala, a Kasuwar Magani resident who lost his home, told AFP over the weekend.

Kaduna state police commissioner Ahmad Abdur-Rahman told reporters on Friday 22 people had been arrested in connection with the violence.

Kaduna state is where Nigeria's predominantly Muslim north meets the predominantly Christian south, and has seen previous bouts of sectarian violence.

In February clashes left at least 10 people dead and hundreds of homes and businesses burnt. Major bouts of sectarian rioting in 2000 and 2002 killed thousands.

The latest outbreak prompted President Muhammadu Buhari to express concern that Nigerians were too frequently resorting to violence over misunderstandings that could be resolved peacefully.

"No culture and religion supports the disregard for the sanctity of life," he said, adding that "peaceful coexistence is necessary for the progress of any society and its wellbeing".​

AFP

Nigeria's undercover atheists

Denouncing God can be a dangerous thing in Nigeria, where religion is the rhythm of life.

Atheism, considered blasphemy by many, is a largely underground movement that's hard to quantify but increasingly reported among millennials.

Atheists come together in private on WhatsApp groups and use pseudonyms on social media sites to share ideas.

The Nigerian population of nearly 200 million is split almost evenly between Muslims and Christians with sizeable followers of traditional spirituality.

"As a clergyman, this makes me sad that today we have people in Nigeria going in for atheism," Gideon Obasogie, a Roman Catholic cleric tells A Jazeera. "The effect of this will be terrible. For one who says there is no God, he can do all kinds of horrible things … I feel this will lead to anarchy and chaos. The rise of atheism in Nigeria is not wonderful news."

In recent months, Nigerian atheists have registered three pro-secular organisations: Atheist Society of Nigeria, the Northern Nigerian Humanist Association and the Nigerian Secular Society.

"We need these organisations as a space for people to come out," says Mubarak Bala, who helped to register the groups.

Bala attracted media attention in 2014 after being admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Kano by his parents when they found out he was atheist.

He says his father and uncles held him down for 30 minutes and forced him to take medications given by the psychiatrist, who told him "everyone needs God".

"People began secretly contacting me, telling me that they too, don't believe in Allah. Even Christians told me they don't think Jesus is God and they just have questions about the whole religion thing," Bala said.

Most keep their beliefs secret.

Bala is the only atheist who allowed Al Jazeera to use his real name.

Al Jazeera travelled to three cities - Kano, Kaduna and Abuja - to meet some "undercover" atheists in their twenties and thirties.

Kenneth: 'My family told me I am possessed'

"I grew up a rebel. I grew up a black sheep in the family. If I go to church, I go because I am forced to go to church.

I've never believed anything, so at a point, the pastor of the church I was attending with my family told me that I am possessed with an evil spirit because I was always questioning God and the Bible.

As an atheist in Nigeria, you will be ostracised.

Up to today, I have many people who keep their distance from me simply because I ask a lot of critical questions about religion. Many of them don't even know I'm now an atheist."

Jiddah: 'I realised Islam didn't have my interest as a woman'

"I've always had questions, unanswered questions right from childhood.

It's not like I was the ideal Muslim girl, because I did a lot of things that Islam did not permit me to do such as wearing men's clothing - meaning trousers - going clubbing, having premarital sex.

Basically, I realised Islam didn't really have my interest as a woman. As a child at the Islamic school, I would always ask, 'Where is God? Why can't we see him or her?'

What I got was a beating, serious flogging because you shouldn't ask such questions.

The breakthrough came I guess when I met Mubarak [Bala]. I found him on Facebook and I sent him a friend request.

(Note: Before receiving death threats, Jiddah said she would use the site to criticise Islam and had 8,000 followers. She has now closed her account.)

Then, we began to talk about religion. Mubarak would say, 'It's just like me telling you there's a cat right here and you can't see it. Why would you believe anything like that?'

So gradually, I just rid myself of that belief in God and it's been liberating.

But it's heartbreaking because you really want to talk to your friends about these things and explain to them because you want them to feel what you feel. But you just can't."

Shehu: 'A scholar can declare you an apostate'

"In Islam, I used to see stuff that didn't correspond with reality. I tried to study Islam but I kept seeing more and more things that I just couldn't believe I was reading.

I went to school in Malaysia and learned about intellectualism and what I learned blew my mind. I was learning about science that broke down the myths of religion. Things just became clear.

I came out and told my father, thinking he would understand. It backfired.

We come from an Islamic royal family in northern Nigeria.

My dad, he went to the NGO I was working at. He was a board member and told them to fire me. So they did.

Then he brought a woman for me to marry so I could just conform and be normal.

My dad prevents me from telling anyone about my beliefs. Here in Nigeria, a Mallam - a respected Islamic scholar - can declare you an apostate as an atheist and order you to be killed, just like that. So I'm undercover."

Peter: 'Why is it that Christianity had to come through conquest?'

"My mother was quite religious. Every Sunday, we'd go to a Catholic church.

The religion, Christianity itself, came in through several tools. Slavery, colonialism and of course, the subtle colonialism, which is missionary style.

So my question has always been, why is it that something that I need had to come through in such an inhumane way? Why is it that it had to come through conquest?

Some people were put to the sword and they had to take it whether they liked it or not.

For my safety … if folks find out I'm an atheist, I could lose out on work opportunities (Peter is an IT professional). If people here in Nigeria find out I'm atheist, I think that would be the death of my reputation. Religion is a scam."

Freeman: 'The killings here over religion do not help'

"The killings that happen so much here in Nigeria over religion do not help.

I came back home one day from school and I learned that a lot of houses had been brought down by our people, Muslims, just thinking that they did that for God.

I watched somebody being burned to death on the road. I was coming back from school. I actually had friends, my Muslim friends, who went out to kill Christians and they asked me to join them and they actually believe they were doing it for God.

They said it's God's wish. They said that's what God wants them to do and that it's also what the Quran says. It really makes me upset."

Nasir: 'My father said I should leave or he'll kill me'

"I am against Islam entirely. Not just the way it's practised, but against it fully.

My parents, they know I don't believe in God.

My father is an Islamic scholar and one day he called me and my mum, and he asked if it was true, [if] what he was hearing about me being an atheist is true. I said yes.

So, he brought out a knife. He wanted to kill me. I was telling him, 'Wait let me explain to you.'

He said, 'How can you explain to me?'

I was scared actually and we were struggling, me and him. Then my mother seized the knife. My father said I should leave the house or he'll kill me at night. So I left the house and started living at my workplace.

My father sent me away and then a relative talked to him and told him I changed my mind and told him that I'm no longer an atheist. But my father knows that's not true.

Some of my relatives keep me away from their children because they say I will corrupt them."

Ayuba: 'It would break my mother's heart if she knew'

"My mother will call me and say, 'Have you been giving your tithes to the church?'

Like, if you don't pay, then you're stealing from God and God will punish you for that. So, it's like a way of indoctrinating people, trying to put fear in people.

I grew up in ECWA (Evangelical Church Winning All, formerly known as Evangelical Church of West Africa).

The whole story of the Bible and creation, I don't know. My mother, it would break her heart if she knew I am atheist."

"I told my father that I don't believe in prayers any more. He was grooming me to become a mallam, an Islamic scholar, like him.

He never encouraged me to go to Western schools. Even when I went to university, I just did it on my own.

He started preaching against me a few years ago.

He's an Islamic scholar so people listen to him. Him preaching against me, you know, someone could take action to harm me.

In his sermons, he would say, 'Just imagine, my son went to Western school so now he believes there is no creator. He thinks he is smarter than all of us and he gets his notions from a computer,' because he used to see me on the computer.

I see my father and other religious people as victims of their beliefs. I had to stop going to my family house."

These interviews were edited for clarity and length. 

All of the interviewees' names, aside from those in the introduction, have been changed to protect their safety. They also requested their ages were not published, out of fear of being identified.

Al Jazeera

Video - Nigerian Muslims may be forced to miss Hajj pilgrimage

Thousands of Nigerian Muslims could be prevented from taking part in the annual Hajj pilgrimage. This is after Saudi Arabian authorities said they may block them from entering the country due to a deadly Lassa fever outbreak in their country. It's the worst outbreak of the haemorragic fever on record in the West African nation.

Video - Nigerians divided on ruling on instant divorce for Muslims

In India, a court ruling banning instant divorce among Muslim couples continues to generate debate. The court maintains the practice is un-Islamic and unconstitutional. CGTN's Kelechi Emekalam takes a look at how that decision is being perceived in Nigeria -- where the population of 180 million people is divided almost equally between Christians and Muslims.