The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has alleged that many of the terrorists responsible for attacks across Nigeria are foreigners whose actions and ideology contradict the core teachings of Islam.
The assertion was made in a statement issued on Saturday, 22 November 2025, by the organisation’s Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.
According to MURIC, a recently circulated online video provided fresh indications that the attackers may not be Nigerians. Akintola said the footage showed armed men launching an assault on what appeared to be a newly deserted rural community, but none of them spoke Hausa, Kanuri, or any local Nigerian language.
He revealed that the commander in the clip issued instructions in Arabic, but the accent did not match classical Arabic or the variant commonly spoken in Northern Nigeria, instead sounding closer to Chadian or Sudanese dialects.
“On the basis of this observation, we are inclined to assume that the terrorists attacking Nigerians, or at least a large majority of them, are mainly foreigners,” Akintola said.
He reiterated MURIC’s long-standing condemnation of terrorism, described the attackers’ atrocities as inconsistent with the peaceful values of Islam. Akintola noted that while Islam prioritises compassion, respect for life, and protection of the vulnerable, terrorists have continued to kidnap, kill, and inflict widespread trauma on communities.
The organisation argued that the conduct of such groups suggested a broader international conspiracy aimed at tarnishing the image of Islam, insisting that their actions “contradict everything the religion stands for.”
MURIC urged Nigerians to unite behind the government and security agencies in the fight against insurgency, stressing that both Muslims and Christians are victims of terrorist violence.
“Terrorists are killing both Christians and Muslims. We are all victims. We must kill the killers, not the victims,” the group said, calling for collective support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration in its counterterrorism efforts.
