Kebbi State Governor, Nasir Idris has suspended a Permanent Secretary in the Kebbi State Civil Service indefinitely from office, until the completion of investigations over some alleged falsehood.
The action was made known on Thursday by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Religious Affairs, Imran ibn Usman.
He said the Governor gave the instruction as a reaction to a viral video containing falsehoods about the prevalence of lesbianism and homosexuality in the State.
He debunked the statistics attributed to Kebbi and Sokoto States by Nasiru Abubakar Kigo, a serving Permanent Secretary, during a Tafsir session.
According to Usman, the government, through the Ministry of Religious Affairs, conducted a thorough investigation into the allegations and found them entirely false.
“We diligently appraised these claims to establish the truth; the assertion that Sokoto State ranks highest in the nation for lesbianism is utterly false and condemnable. Likewise, the claim that Kebbi State has 19,567 lesbians, with the majority of them married women, as well as 15,979 homosexuals, is utterly baseless,” he said.
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He emphasised that, Kebbi and Sokoto States, being pillars of the famous Sokoto Caliphate, hold strong moral and religious values, saying that such allegations are not only misleading, but also offensive to their heritage of sound virtues.
“These false claims have painted Kebbi State and its people in a negative light, while also misrepresenting Islam and the legacy of the Sokoto Caliphate.”
He maintained that, “the Kebbi State Government categorically rejects and condemns such false declarations; the government will not allow the good image of the state to be tarnished in whatever way”, the Special Adviser warned.
He made it clear that the matter was being addressed appropriately, and necessary action will be taken to forestall recurrence.
(Editor: Ken Eseni)
