24/05/2026
PROFESSOR OJOBI'S TESTIMONY ON HOW THE CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (CAN) ALLEGEDLY FUNDED AND CREATED THE FOUNDATION OF TERRORISM THROUGH MAITATSINE, WHICH LATER EVOLVED INTO BOKO HARAM, LAKURAWA, BANDITRY, ETC.
MAITATSINE, BOKO HARAM AND CAN: THE BITTER TRUTH
“Marwa Maitatsine was allegedly a Christian until his death!!
Back in 1954 (before Nigeria’s independence), there were a series of meetings by the highest body of Christian associations in Northern Nigeria, held in Jos, where I happened to serve as the secretary taking the minutes of the meetings. At that time, I was an undergraduate student of Christian Theology.
Part of the outcome of those meetings, according to the testimony, was to sponsor some individuals among ‘us’ to Arab countries as newly converted Muslims to study Arabic and Islam. Their mission was to return to Nigeria as Muslim clerics, use their Islamic knowledge to preach violence, distort original Islamic teachings, and if possible create unrest in Northern Nigeria that would destabilize the region.
Five people were nominated and sent to Sudan to begin the mission. Three of them reportedly refused to return and instead spent the rest of their lives in Sudan as practicing Muslims. The remaining two — Muhammad Marwa and Birema — returned. Marwa was sent to Kano, while Birema was sent to Niamey, Niger Republic.” … (the claim further suggests that cross-border recruitment and infiltration later emerged from such networks).
— Professor Dauda Ojobi
Professor Dauda Ojobi was reportedly a former secretary within Northern Christian circles, a retired Professor in the Faculty of Law at Benue State University, the third Reverend Father from Northern Nigeria after Paul Gindiri and G.G. Ganaka, the first Nigerian overseer of the Baptist Church in Kaduna, and a former Commissioner of Justice in Bauchi State.
Maitatsine’s ideology was described as an earlier version of the extremist doctrines later associated with Boko Haram, Lakurawa, banditry, and kidnapping syndicates operating across Northern Nigeria. Their ideology reportedly forbade what Islam permitted and permitted what Islam prohibited. They declared Western education sinful, rejected technological advancement, and preached that items such as wristwatches, radios, and televisions were haram during that period.
The spiritual leader of the Maitatsine movement was Muhammad Marwa, popularly known as Maitatsine.
The late Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi, reportedly became suspicious of Maitatsine after claims emerged that he received items linked to the Vatican. After allegedly confirming his suspicions, the Emir expelled Maitatsine from Kano in the early 1960s. Maitatsine was later brought back during the administration of former Governor Rimi in 1979.
After Maitatsine’s death, former President Shehu Shagari established the Justice Anyaegolu Panel to investigate the crisis. Professor Dauda Ojobi reportedly made submissions before the panel. However, according to the claims, no white paper was issued because the government feared it could generate further crisis.
Professor Dauda later embraced Islam in 1966 after returning from Rome, where he had gone for further studies in Christian Theology. He reportedly spent over four decades as a Muslim preacher.
Now, here is what I have been curious to ask, why these claims were never fully investigated? Is it not that our security agencies are applying double standards in examining the roots of terrorism and violent extremism in Nigeria? If it's a solidarity rally for the oppressed people in Palestine, they would have been calling for the heads of our scholars.
Boko Haram and similar groups should not automatically be presented as creations of mainstream Muslims or Islam itself, but rather as products of deeper missionary, political, ideological, and international manipulations.
Reference is also often made to statements by some Western political figures regarding the historical creation and support of armed groups during geopolitical conflicts involving Russia and the Muslim world.
