OSAS EMMANUEL
ABUJA, Nigeria — The Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) has challenged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to arrest pastors and imams who allegedly use churches and mosques to extort money from politicians.
NIREC Executive Secretary, Prof. Cornelius Omonokhua, made the call on Wednesday in Abuja during a NIREC meeting where the EFCC unveiled its Inter-Faith Anti-Corruption Manual.
Omonokhua said the anti-corruption campaign should go beyond the publication of manuals to enforcement against clerics who allegedly turn places of worship into platforms for political campaigns and financial exploitation.
“EFCC should go beyond the anti-corruption manual to arresting Pastors and Imams who publicly preach hate or carry out political campaigns in the Churches and Mosques to extort money from partisan politicians,” he said.
He described the practice as “religious commerce,” warning that some preachers had turned religion into a business venture.
“This would go a long way to stop religious commerce of selling God to make money,” he said.
According to him, a distorted understanding of religion could produce “fake, professional and accidental pastors and imams” who mislead their followers through hate speech.
Omonokhua said some clerics serve interests that exploit religion, ethnicity and poverty for personal gain, describing religious corruption as “priest-craft.”
He likened such practices to witchcraft when they result in the destruction of human lives and undermine human dignity.
“We thank the EFCC for their manual which we hope would stop religious preachers and teachers from religious corruption and religious motivated corruption through professional and fake preaching,” he said.
The NIREC executive secretary said the council had resolved to reject statements that undermine peace and human dignity while maintaining its non-partisan position on politics.
“NIREC also resolved not to be partisan by supporting a political party against the other,” he said, urging Nigerians to respect freedom of religion and conscience.
Omonokhua said the EFCC’s preaching and teaching manual was developed to guide Christian and Muslim religious leaders through the Interfaith Anti-Corruption Advisory Committee (IAAC).
He said the IAAC had published the second edition of its anti-corruption preaching and teaching manual for Christians and Muslims, alongside facilitators’ guides.
“This is to assist preachers share the authentic teaching of religion with the hope of promoting peaceful co-existence and fight corruption,” he said.
He commended EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, for leading the anti-corruption conversation, describing the manual as important in providing guidance for teaching and preaching against corruption within religious institutions.
“No nation can flourish in the face of corruption at all levels,” Omonokhua said.
He added, “The anti-corruption manual is imperative because ignorance of scriptures is ignorance of God. Through the scriptures of different faith traditions, you can know about God.
“Any religious person, pastor or imam who is corrupt cannot claim to know God.”
