But Street-Wise Nigerians Not Fooled, Nor Washington
By Mike Odeh James
(JOS) — A viral video of uniformed cadets of Izala (Society for the Removal of Innovation) in Jos chanting for rifles to kill Christians at Sunday prayer has exposed Nigeria’s tolerance of faith-based militias.
The clip, under 45 seconds long, shows boys and young men in brown khaki, blue berets and white belts drilling on an unpaved road. A leader shouts a Hausa-tribe war chant, and the column echoes him.
“Give me an AK-47 so I will go to Enugu and kill infidels on Sunday while they are praying. Give me guns to go to Jos and kill more infidels. That is the Sunnah, that is the training,” the leader chants, according to a TruthNigeria translation.
TruthNigeria cannot confirm when the video was recorded, but it was shot in Jos. The uniforms match those of the Agaji, the First Aid Group of Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah Wa Iqamatis Sunnah (Society for the Removal of Innovation, and the re-establishment of the authentic traditions Sunnah or simply JIBWIS), Nigeria’s most influential Salafi movement. The footage spread on Facebook and X from Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, and was widely circulating by the early hours of Monday, Oct. 26, 2026.
Who Are the Agaji?
Officially, the Agaji handle crowd control, first aid and parade drills at religious gatherings and carry no weapons, much like the Boys’ Brigade. In practice, they form the largest non-state uniformed corps in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, with ranks, a command structure and annual national camps.
“Plateau State has 5,000 to 10,000 active uniformed Agaji, concentrated in Jos North, Jos South, Barkin Ladi, Mangu and Kanam counties,” said David Onyilokwu Idah, director of the International Human Rights Commission, Abuja.
“Nationwide, registered membership runs from 100,000 to 250,000, with 30,000 to 40,000 regulars trusted for national events. The Boys’ Brigade nationwide is not up to 30,000. The pool that could be turned against Christians in the Middle Belt is very large,” Idah said.
Damage Control
On Monday, JIBWIS National Chairman Sheikh Abdullahi Bala Lau condemned the clip as contrary to the group’s teachings and urged the Department of State Services (DSS) and police to identify and prosecute those involved. He cited JIBWIS’ recent interfaith conference in Abuja and warned the footage could be used to tarnish the movement.
“While we will not conclude until the authenticity of the video is verified, it now seems that some individuals have become so powerful that they can make hateful remarks and go scot-free,” said Rev. Joseph John Hayab, chairman of the Northern Christian Association (NCA).
“This is no longer a religious issue but a security matter. Boko Haram, ISWAP [Islamic State West Africa Province] and other terrorist organizations started like this,” Hayab added.
“The slogans are a vicious display of children being manipulated and indoctrinated with violence and hatred,” Amnesty International said Monday, demanding an independent probe of the drill’s organizers.
Roots in Saudi Arabia
“JIBWIS was founded in Jos in February 1978 by Sheikh Isma’ila Idris, a student of Sheikh Abubakar Gumi, the former Grand Khadi of the Northern Region. Gumi championed the teachings of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, the 18th-century Islamic reformer whose doctrine underpins the Saudi state,” said Adam Adakole of Adakson Security Consultancy, Takum.
The movement’s name, the Society for the Removal of Innovation and Re-establishment of the Sunnah, states its mission: purging practices of the Sufi Qadiriyya and Tijjaniyya orders. Members call themselves Salafis; critics call them Wahhabis. Izala split into rival factions in the 1990s, led today by Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir in Jos and Bala Lau,” Adakole further said.
JIBWIS is not Boko Haram. Its official doctrine is non-violent, centered on preaching and schools. But it shares a theological lineage with violent, radical movements.
Why the Chant Matters
Human-rights expert Idah explained why the chants matter.
“The two cities named are not random. Enugu is the heart of Nigeria’s Christian Southeast. Jos has lost thousands to Muslim-Christian bloodshed since 2001, and Plateau’s Christian villages have suffered repeated raids by the Fulani Ethnic Militia (FEM) this year.
“The Hausa word ‘arna,’ once meant ‘traditional pagans.’ Radical preachers now use it for Christians,” Idah said.
Nigeria’s Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 punishes threats to commit terrorist acts. A call for rifles to attack worshippers is not preaching. By press time, neither the DSS nor police had announced an investigation.
From Scouts to Militias
The pattern is familiar abroad. Hezbollah (Party of God, Shiite organization) turned its uniformed Imam al-Mahdi Scouts into a recruitment pipeline. The Taliban, whose name means “students,” grew from madrassa classrooms into an army. The Islamic State drilled boys as its “Cubs of the Caliphate.”
The Washington Angle
The video surfaced days before the first anniversary of President Donald Trump’s Oct. 31, 2025, redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for religious freedom violations. In August, Rep. Riley Moore (R-W.Va.) warned that Washington cannot lift the designation while attacks on Middle Belt Christians continue.
“The Nigerian government is not only failing to protect its Christian citizens, but it is also covering up the scale of the atrocities and allowing terror groups to thrive in plain sight,” said Judd Saul, founder of Equipping the Persecuted.
A uniformed corps drilling children to chant for rifles is exactly what the CPC law describes: violence tolerated by a government.
Mike Odeh James is an award winning journalist He reports on conflict, religious freedom and human rights for TruthNigeria.
