By Abdussamad Yahya Sufi
The recent statements by the Israeli ambassador to Nigeria, Michael Freeman, alleging that Iran sponsors terrorism in Nigeria through Islamic movement led by Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky have created controversies and public debate across the country.
The claims, made during an interview on Arise TV and also circulated across multiple media platforms, have raised critical questions about the role of foreign diplomatic propaganda in misleading perceptions about the real ideology of the Islamic movement.
It should be noted that the Israeli envoy did not first expose this so-called hidden agenda. Nigerian media outlets had already signaled it earlier. It is known that the Islamic Movement conducts various events across the twelve months of the year, but many of these media outlets rarely report them. For many years, this has been their pattern.
The Islamic movement organizes Maulud ceremonies and processions, Ashura commemorations and processions, Imam Hussain Arba’een treks, Quds Day processions, protests against insecurity in Nigeria, and several other annual events. Millions of adherents participate in these activities accross the soil.
However, the media has been silent about these peaceful gatherings until when attacks occurred by Nigerian authorities, this is when mostly the media outlets make a noise about the movement. This pattern may be linked to government censorship or pressure.
It is therefore shocking that since the beginning of solidarity processions by Muslim brothers in Nigeria for Iran after the killing of the Iranian Supreme Leader, Martyr Ali Khamenei, media outlets and influencers from different regions suddenly began reporting about it. This was what initially alerted that something unusual was happening.
Then, on 6 March 2026, the Israeli ambassador to Nigeria made statements on Arise TV, and the media spread them widely, almost in the same way they promote sponsored advertisements or political campaigns.
It is ironic for the Israeli regime to claim that Iran is responsible for sponsoring terror networks around the globe. Since the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979, Iran has not launched an invasion to occupy another country in the way the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003.
Everyone knows who invades other people’s lands. The so-called nation of Israel should have nothing to say on this matter, as it is well documented that the state was literally built on the land of other people, the Palestinians. It seized their land and continues killing innocent and vulnerable women and children. Over seventy thousand people have been killed, according to reports cited by international organisations such as the United Nations, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch.
How then does Israel have the audacity to accuse Iran of sponsoring terrorism? If what Israel is doing in Gaza is not terrorism, then what should it be called?
We are not only challenging Israel regarding the global crisis but also its principal ally. Some members of the United States Congress, including Congressman Scott Perry, said that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) had been involved in sponsoring terrorism, including groups such as Boko Haram in Nigeria.
Anyone can verify those statements. It is also well known that the United States has conducted military invasions in countries such as Syria, Yemen, Libya, and Iraq.
The United States and the Israeli state have invaded and intervened in sovereign nations while presenting themselves in the media propaganda as innocent actors, defenders of global security, as though the world is not watching.
It is well documented that the United States has military bases across several Arab countries, including Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates. Commentators believe these bases are strategically placed against Iran, as they are currently serving their purpose in the ongoing war with Iran. Israel is also expanding security partnerships with some Gulf countries.
Iran, according to history does not initiate wars but responds to attacks in order to protect its sovereignty. Even in the 2026 ongoing war, Iranian authorities make their operations target U.S. and Israeli military installations in those neighboring countries that allowed U.S used it in killing Iranian Supreme Leader and continued attacks.
It is also very known that the United States and Israel have a strong strategic relationship. Several Arab countries also have close political and economic ties with the United States, including resource cooperation.
Some analysts argue that Western intelligence agencies have historically influenced regional security dynamics and sometimes linked extremist networks to geopolitical strategies. Many Muslims believe that extremist groups cite ideological references that do not represent mainstream Islamic teachings.
It is therefore ridiculous for the Israeli ambassador to make such baseless claims about the Islamic movement led by Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky. His propaganda attempts to frame the Islamic Republic of Iran as a terrorist state. Extremism has no place in Shi’a ideology; rather, the movement teaches resistance against tyranny and Western neo-colonialism.
For decades, Nigerian administrations have been accused by critics and observers of suppressing members of the Islamic movement. More than a thousand of members are reported to have been killed over the years.
However, there is no tangible record of the movement engaging in organized violence, targeting civilians, or destroying public property.
Several questions have also raised about killing of influential political figures around the world, that powerful global actors have played roles in the deaths of several political figures across the world, including Ahmadu Bello in Nigeria, Saddam Hussein in Iraq, Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, Qassem Soleimani in Iran, and Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon. It’s well documented the cause of their deaths and who’s responsible for it.
The Islamic movement has never been created for terrorism, nor has it ever functioned as an instrument controlled by any foreign country.
The movement is funded and sustained through contributions from its own members and recognizes only one primary leader, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky.
Its solidarity with Iranian society is similar to the solidarity it shows toward other Muslim communities and oppressed populations, including Palestinians.
The Islamic movement has faced a long history of massacre by the Nigerian authorities.
Members have been killed, arrested, or had their properties destroyed over the years.
As well documented, these actions occurred not because the movement violated Nigerian law but because of its ideological resistance against corrupt and unjust governance, which has been affecting the ruling class and the foreign benefactors of the system. Its ideological alignment with the Islamic Republic of Iran also exposed it to threats, as cited by some Western governments and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
In 2014, thirty-three members of the movement were killed, including three sons of its leader Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky.
The incident occurred during a Quds Day procession organized in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, facing a genocide by Israeli regime.
In other years, similar incidents happened during Quds Day commemorations across different states of Nigeria. And in some cases, victims’ bodies were never returned while others remain detained.
Despite the scale of these processions, which involve millions of participants across several Nigerian states, most national media outlets rarely report them.
It’s believe this silence is deliberate and aimed at limiting public visibility.
It is therefore worrying that the same media outlets now provide extensive coverage to such a smaller gatherings held in solidarity with Iran.
This could be interpret as a strategic attempt of a propagated narrative framing designed to portray the movement as a security threat.
Members of the Islamic movement are Nigerians and are law-abiding citizens.
They have not been convicted as an organization of terrorism by Nigerian courts. They’re practicing what the law of the country grant them.
The Israeli ambassador is therefore urged to be cautious when making public accusations against Nigerian citizens within their own country.
The President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is also advised to carefully consider the implications of foreign involvement in Nigeria’s internal affairs.
There are signals that geopolitical rivalries involving Iran, United States, and Israel could influence Nigeria’s internal security environment.
Foreign security cooperation and international military partnerships, including the United States airstrikes in Nigeria, have also created anxiety among citizens who fear that Nigeria could become a strategic arena for global power rivalry..
The Islamic movement declared that it has never functioned as a community controlled by any foreign country or external power. It rejects Israeli claims that it operates as an organization directed by outside forces or is “fed” by foreign interests. The movement stated that its entire construction is built by the voluntary contributions and support of its members. It’s also not a mere organization but a religious ideology with million adherents.
It’s alleged that several foreign and regional actors are participating in the suppression of the movement over the years. The community members of the movement have expressed suspicion toward the roles of the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia in political agenda attacking the movement due it’s political ally and solidarity with the ideology of Islamic Republic of Iran.
There are also facts for foreign military presence within Nigeria. Reports that U.S troops have arrived in parts of Bauchi State for the fight of so called terrorists as Trump frame it responsible for what he designed as “Christian Genocide in Nigeria”.
The emergence of insecurity incidents in certain areas in Bauchi, following U.S security deployments is suspicious.
There are also alarms regarding security surveillance ahead of public processions. It is believed that Nigerian police forces have issued alerts to monitor movements of people in relation to solidarity processions for Iran on the ongoing U.S-Israeli war with Iran.
We also caution and calls on the Nigerian government to protect the members of the Islamic movement during public gatherings. Nigeria must protect its sovereignty and prevent external powers from turning our country into another theater for geopolitical conflicts.
