Hussaini Kafi in Kano
The Zamfara State Government has firmly debunked a viral report claiming that a young woman named Zainab, who allegedly converted to Christianity, is scheduled to appear before a Shari’a Court on Friday.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the spokesperson for Governor Dauda Lawal, Sulaiman Bala Idris, described the report as entirely false and sourced from misleading social media narratives designed to attract traffic and provoke unrest.
“The attention of the Zamfara State Government has been drawn to a mischievous piece of fake news concerning a 22-year-old Miss Zainab Muhamadu, who was falsely claimed to be facing the death penalty for converting to Christianity,” the statement read.
“We categorically state that this is the handiwork of enemies of peace, bent on stoking religious tension where none exists.”
The government explained that it had taken swift action by engaging relevant authorities and security agencies to verify the claim. After thorough investigations, it was established that no such case is before any Shari’a Court in Zamfara State.
Furthermore, the Grand Khadi of the Zamfara Sharia Court of Appeal confirmed that no case of such nature has ever been brought before the court system in the state.
The government questioned the motives behind such a fabricated report:
“Where does this divisive narrative originate? What are the motives of those promoting this falsehood?”
In a further revelation, the statement noted that the photograph used in the misleading report does not depict a Nigerian woman. The individual shown is identified as Aalia, a resident of Texas, United States.
The government condemned the irresponsible spread of false information by platforms that fail to uphold journalistic ethics. “This is a classic example of yellow journalism. Media platforms must refrain from copying and pasting content from unverifiable social media sources in pursuit of likes and shares.”
The Zamfara State Government has called on security agencies to investigate the source of the story and take necessary action against those responsible for attempting to incite religious division.
“We urge every well-meaning Nigerian to denounce this fake report and support efforts to maintain peace and unity in our nation,” the statement concluded.
