{"id":124773,"date":"2026-01-05T07:47:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T06:47:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=124773"},"modified":"2026-01-05T07:47:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T06:47:16","slug":"sultan-didnt-flee-nigeria-after-us-airstrikes-sultanate-council","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/sultan-didnt-flee-nigeria-after-us-airstrikes-sultanate-council\/","title":{"rendered":"Sultan Didn&#8217;t Flee Nigeria After US Airstrikes \u2014 Sultanate Council"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By Oscar Okhifo<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Sultanate Council of Sokoto has denied a viral report claiming that the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa\u2019ad Abubakar III, fled Nigeria in the aftermath of alleged United States airstrikes, describing the claim as false and misleading.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a statement issued by its Public Relations Officer, Aminu Haliru Gidadawa, the council urged the public to disregard the report, stressing that it was entirely false and unfounded.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It clarified that the Sultan neither fled the country nor went into hiding, noting that the monarch was in Maiduguri, Borno State, on an official engagement when the rumour began circulating.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The council explained that the Sultan was in Maiduguri to attend a 2026 cultural summit themed \u201cEchoes of Resilience: Harnessing Culture for Peace and Regional Stability,\u201d held at Ramat Square in the Borno State capital.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">While speaking at the summit, the Sultan commended Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, for his leadership and resilience in the face of security challenges.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cI congratulate Governor Zulum for his very glaring achievements in bringing peace and development to the state, despite numerous challenges,\u201d the Sultan was quoted as saying.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He also expressed appreciation for the warm reception accorded him, adding, \u201cI also thank him for his usual hospitality and wish him the best in all his endeavours.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Explaining the significance of his presence at the event, the Sultan said it was a reflection of the long-standing historical relationship between the two traditional institutions.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cMy attendance was out of brotherhood and solidarity that existed for centuries between the Sokoto Caliphate and Kanem-Bornu Empire, despite cultural diversity that the two states harness as their source of strength and unity,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Sultan further acknowledged the support of the Shehu of Borno, noting their joint leadership of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Jama\u2019atu Nasril Islam, and the Traditional Rulers Council of Nigeria.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He also expressed gratitude to foreign dignitaries from Chad, Niger, Cameroon, Benin, Ghana, and Saudi Arabia who attended the summit, wishing them safe journeys home.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In their remarks, Governor Zulum and the Shehu of Borno commended the Sultan for attending the event, describing the summit as a platform to strengthen peace, unity, and regional stability through culture.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Sultanate Council reiterated its warning against spreading unverified information, urging the public to rely on credible sources, particularly regarding traditional institutions and national security matters.<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Oscar Okhifo The Sultanate Council of Sokoto has denied a viral report claiming that the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa\u2019ad Abubakar III, fled Nigeria in the aftermath of&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":89723,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Sultan Didn&#039;t Flee Nigeria After US Airstrikes \u2014 Sultanate Council - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/sultan-didnt-flee-nigeria-after-us-airstrikes-sultanate-council\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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