His confessions linked him to state-backed mass killings, destruction, and systemic persecution of the Shia minority under the leadership of Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky.
Agroup of concerned citizens, survivors, and relatives of victims of a decade-long campaign of violence in Sokoto State have petitioned the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, over “self-incriminating confessions” made by former governor and current Senator, Aliyu Wamakko.
His confessions linked him to state-backed mass killings, destruction, and systemic persecution of the Shia minority under the leadership of Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky.
The petition, dated October 27, 2025, and signed by Prof. Shehu Ahmad Maigandi of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, alleges that Wamakko’s recent public comments during the commissioning of a mosque in Minanata, Sokoto, revealed his orchestration of violent operations that claimed numerous lives and displaced entire communities.
The video of Wamakko’s speech, now circulating across social media and broadcast networks, captures the former governor boasting of using security agencies and hired thugs “to destroy the Shia Islamic Centre and neutralise their activities,” particularly targeting the late Malam Kasimu Umar’s residence and religious facilities.
Wamakko served as governor of Sokoto State from 2007 to 2015 and is currently representing Sokoto Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly.
During his tenure, the group alleges, at least 170 houses and businesses belonging to Shia followers were destroyed, and over 100 people were arrested, detained, and prosecuted on politically motivated charges.
Many of those sentenced were later acquitted by the Court of Appeal in 2015, but not before some had died in detention from illnesses acquired in prison.
The petition also details names of those reportedly killed, such as Malam Hussaini Mana, Aminu Muhammad (popularly known as Aminu System), and Nasiru Jimi Danhili.
It further accuses Wamakko of leveraging religious leaders like Malam Bello Kofa and Malam Ummaru Danmaishiyya to incite hate and trigger violent attacks that continued unchecked throughout his administration.
In what human rights advocates describe as a “rare moment of public self-indictment”, the former governor’s speech allegedly reveals misuse of state power, manipulation of the military under Lt. Col. Nasiru Kontagora, and a brazen disregard for constitutional rights, including freedom of religion and protection from discrimination.
The petitioners are now calling on the IGP to arrest and prosecute Senator Wamakko, urging that his actions “be treated as a grave threat to national security and peaceful coexistence in Nigeria.”
The petition has been copied to over 30 key national institutions and figures, including the Attorney General of the Federation, National Human Rights Commission, all legislators from Sokoto State, and international human rights groups such as Amnesty International and the Islamic Human Rights Commission in London.
The statement read, “These people were haphazardly arraigned at various Sharia Courts in Sokoto. Obviously, their trials were politically influenced, which led to their unjust sentences without recourse to existing legal procedures. The mass trials and sentences were indeed state-backed and all the captives were sent to various prisons across Nigeria.
“On appeal of the sentences made, all the detainees were duly discharged and acquitted by the Court of Appeal on 02/07/2015. During the prison sentences, some of the persecuted captives died in detention. These included Mal. Nura Abubakar Guiwa who died in Gboko prison, Benue State as well as Ibrahim Mungadi and Buhari Dole, who died shortly after their release as a result of diseases they contracted during their prison sentences.
“Other victims were hundreds of people working with state and local governments whose appointments were terminated without due process and recourse to the existing civil service regulations. His ground for the dastardly gruesome and inhuman killings and persecution of the Shia population was their insistence to continue to pray and perform their religious activities at the Sokoto Central Mosque, known as Masallacin Shehu.
“These confessions, showed the dishonorable character of the two-term governor and Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. His reigns in office as the governor were characterized with bloodshed and widespread violence. This is evident to the relative peace and normalcy that ensued in the state capital after ten years of his violent and reckless leadership that ended in 2015.”
According to the statement, “It is on record that his style of political mobilization depends on violent sectarian mobilization by manipulating the ignorant Sunni majority against the Shia minority with the use of extremist Sunni scholars, some of whom he cited during the self-incriminating speech he made publicly. The speech was a stepping stone for the return to the dangerous sectarian politics he spearheaded as the governor of the state.
“Evident to this claim was the subject of Friday sermon delivered by the Imam of the Jummat Mosque, where he made the provocative statements on the 17th October, 2025. The sermon by Malam Nura Hausare, who is one of his agents in the propagation of Shia violence in the state, reiterated the call of Sen. Wamakko for the return of violent attacks on Shia in the state. This strategy is a well-known political tactic of Wamakko.
“The Senator was known as the champion of divisive and violent politics since his spell as Deputy Governor. He was fingered as one who built and armed gangs of violent youths, known as Baraden Sunna who had been responsible for the sectarian violence that started in 2005. During that period, prominent members of the Shia minority group were brutally and cruelly murdered. Those killed in the initial violent crackdown by armed gangs included Akilu Sahabi Tudun Wada, Adamu Marmaron Garo and Aliyu Abubakar Hungumawa.”
They explained that the basis of the aforementioned facts and the public confessional statements made, which also constitute acts of provocation and instigation of communal violence.
“We hereby bring to the notice of the Inspector General of Police, to as a matter of urgency, investigate/interrogate and prosecute Sen. Aliyu Magatakardar Wamakko for taking full responsibility of the violence that led to the extrajudicial killings of the Shia minority people by both the security agencies and armed gangs that he created and funded while he was the governor of Sokoto state from 2007 to 2015.
“This is even more compelling given that the court had already discharged and acquitted all the accused persons that were unjustly arrested and incarcerated for years. The need to arrest and prosecute Sen. Wamakko is even more apt now that the state and the entire Northern region faces daunting security challenges that have undermine the peace and security of the nation. If the likes of these highly placed individuals are made to believe that they are above the laws of the land, the Nigerian state will continue to be disrupted and peaceful co-existence in the Nigeria will forever remain a mirage.
“It is our fervent prayer that the Inspector General of Police will be professional and courageous enough to act fast and bring this unpatriotic element to book in accordance with the laws of the land. This is necessary because Sokoto state, the North and indeed Nigeria cannot afford another round of communal violence, particularly in the historic city of Sokoto,” the group added.
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