The United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken on Thursday opted against designating Nigeria and India as “Countries of Particular Concern” (CPCs) for religious freedom violations. This decision ignited immediate backlash, with the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) calling it “extreme disappointment.”  The annual list released by the State Department maintained the previous year’s 12 CPCs, including notorious offenders like Burma, China, and Saudi Arabia, and added only Azerbaijan to a watch list. This sparked outrage among advocates who argued that both Nigeria and India, with their escalating violence against religious minorities, deserved harsher sanctions. 

The Federal Government has announced the deadline for the 2024 hajj registration by intending pilgrims to 31st January, 2024.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has dissolved the Board of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) and also appointed Jalal Ahmed Arabi as the Commission’s Chairman for a term of 4 years. This was made known on Tuesday in a statement issued by Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity.

Yobe State Government has launched new commission known as ‘Hisbah Commission’ aimed to curb the perpetration of social vices and aid the enforcement of Shariah across the State. Hisbah is a religious taskforce established to fight social vices and ensure social hygiene in the overall conduct of Muslims in an Islamic society.

The Federal Government (FG) has declared Wednesday, 27 September 2023 as public holiday to mark the Eid-ul-Maulid celebration, the birth of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). This was made known on Monday in a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Oluwatoyin Akinlade on behalf of the Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.

Kano State Government through Hisbah (Sharia police), on Wednesday, confirmed that it has procured a set of furniture, food items, as well as clothing materials for N1,800 intending couples under its mass wedding scheme with over N800 million as budget. Commissioner for Information, Halilu Baba Dantiye confirmed to the Guardian that the mass wedding ceremony was part of the state palliative initiative. He hinted that a plan was underway to unveil the distribution of grains to the less privileged amid criticism on how interventions that were meant to cushion the impact of the removal of fuel subsidy was converted to fund mass wedding.