“In 1986 Nigeria joined Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Many of us don’t bother” – Femi Falana

Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, has addressed whether it was appropriate for President Tinubu to attend the Arab Islamic Summit, considering that Nigeria is a secular state.

In a video shared by Channels TV, Falana explained that Nigeria joined the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) since 1986 and has regularly participated in its conferences. Falana highlighted that section 10 of the constitution prevents the government from adopting any particular religion as a state religion.

In Falana’s words: “In 1986 Nigeria joined the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and since then, Nigeria has been attending the annual conference of OIC. To that extent many of us don’t bother. But what is important is for government of Nigeria to appreciate section 10 of the constitution which says the government of Nigeria shall not adopt any religion as a state religion.

You can’t send people to Mecca with public funds and you can’t send people to Jerusalem with public funds. You cannot build churches and mosques as it is done now because traditional adherents also have the right to say they want to go and worship their own God in Brazil or Cuba”