WANEP Hosts National Briefing on Rising Concerns of Religious Radicalism in Nigeria

•Highlights risks of unregulated Madrassas

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

The West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), under the EU-supported Research and Action for Peace (REcAP) programme, hosted a national deliberative briefing to present key findings from two studies exploring the ideological, cultural, and security implications of madrassas in both Northern and Southwestern Nigeria.

This was disclosed in a statement by the representative of the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) in Nigeria, Mr Emmanuel Ami-Okhani.

The session was attended by policymakers, researchers, civil society actors, and security stakeholders, focused on understanding how religious education intersects with radical ideologies, external funding, and youth identity in Nigeria.

The REcAP project, implemented by WANEP in partnership with the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), aims to strengthen the role of civil society and research in shaping effective responses to conflict, violent extremism, and peacebuilding across West Africa and the Lake Chad Basin.

One of the working paper presentations of a major study titled: “Madrasas, Charities and Religious Radicalism in Northern Nigeria: A Study of the Almajiri System,” authored by Prof. Freedom Onuoha, Dr Saheed Babajide Owonikoko, and Dr Chukwuma Okoli, explored the theological foundations and operational structures of the Almajiri system, particularly in Abuja, Kano, and Borno states, regions selected for their population size, security relevance, and Islamic education presence.
The research highlighted that the Almajiri system, rooted in the Arabic term al-muhajirun (meaning “to migrate for knowledge”), has historically served as a respected Islamic education platform but has since suffered neglect, a lack of regulation, and infiltration by unverified foreign actors.

According to Owonikoko, who presented the paper, the study found evidence of informal funding from foreign religious charities, mainly from the Middle East. Still, it warned that such support is largely undocumented, making it difficult to monitor for extremist influence.

He disclosed that, based on interviews conducted with school custodians, scholars, former Almajiri students, and security agents, a key concern was the lack of transparency surrounding financial donations and the ideological content introduced by some foreign-linked clerics.

He cited historical and contemporary cases where charities from countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran supported specific sectarian ideologies within Almajiri schools. However, direct links between this support and actual radicalisation remain hard to legally establish due to the clandestine nature of donations.

Owonikoko noted during the presentation that “most Almajiri schools are not documented or supervised, making them vulnerable to ideological manipulation through informal funding channels.”