The Islamic Forum of Nigeria (IFN) has strongly condemned the recent Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Government of Israel on security cooperation and intelligence sharing, describing it as morally wrong and a stain on Nigeria’s national conscience.
In a statement signed by its Deputy National President, M.T. Gwarzo, and made available to THISDAY in Kano on Tuesday, the forum said the decision was “ill-timed and morally indefensible” given Israel’s ongoing actions in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories.
“At a time when the international community is grappling with the moral and legal implications of Israel’s ongoing atrocities in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories, Nigeria’s diplomatic overture to Tel Aviv is not only ill-timed, it is morally indefensible,” the statement read.
The forum pointed out that Israel currently stands accused before the International Court of Justice of genocide, mass starvation, and systematic torture of Palestinian civilians, noting that “over 59,000 Palestinians have been killed, including thousands of children, while humanitarian aid has been weaponized as a tool of extermination.”
It added: “Bulldozers supplied by Western firms have been used to demolish homes, hospitals, and places of worship. Israeli forces have turned food distribution sites into death traps, gunning down civilians seeking aid.”
The IFN maintained that aligning Nigeria with such a regime under the guise of security cooperation would betray the nation’s longstanding commitment to justice, peace, and the dignity of all peoples.
The forum also expressed alarm over the possible involvement of Israeli intelligence agencies, such as Mossad, warning that this “raises serious concerns about surveillance, profiling, and potential targeting of Muslim clerics and activists within Nigeria, an anxiety already voiced by respected religious leaders.”
Rejecting the notion that Nigeria’s security challenges could be solved through such foreign partnerships, Gwarzo insisted that “true security lies in strengthening our own institutions, promoting inclusive governance, and addressing the root causes of violence — poverty, corruption, and injustice.”
He warned that “if we are outsourcing our security to a foreign power accused of war crimes, Nigeria risks compromising its sovereignty, eroding accountability, and entrenching dependence on external actors whose interests may not align with our national values.”
Ahmad Sorondinki
