JOS, Nigeria – The Plateau State chapter of Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) has dismissed viral reports alleging that a Muslim organisation was planning to establish a Hisbah enforcement outfit in Jos North Local Government Area, clarifying that the claims originated from artificial intelligence-generated images circulated on social media, the Islamic body announced on Tuesday, September 1, 2026.
The clarification followed heightened communal apprehension and subsequent executive action by the Plateau State Government, which had ordered security agencies to identify and prosecute individuals operating under any unauthorized religious enforcement outfit.
Okay News reports that the controversy intensified after digitally manipulated photographs surfaced online depicting individuals in purported Hisbah security uniforms claiming to have established operations in Jos North.
Speaking in an interview with Blueprint Radio Abuja, the Secretary of JNI in Plateau State, Salim Umar, stated categorically that no Islamic organization within the state had ever contemplated, discussed, or initiated plans to set up a Hisbah corps.
“I want to assure the people that no Islamic organisation in Plateau has come out to say it wants to establish Hisbah,” Umar said. “There is nothing like that. It has never been discussed, and it is not part of what is being considered.”
Umar explained that forensic appraisal of the viral materials revealed that the imagery had been synthetically created through artificial intelligence tools before being disseminated across messaging platforms as an online prank that rapidly gained unintended public traction.
“The matter started on social media when some people appeared in uniforms created with the help of artificial intelligence, claiming that they had established Hisbah in Jos North,” the JNI scribe explained. “The information gained traction, and people began sharing it widely.”
Emphasizing the constitutional and legal frameworks governing internal security, Umar stressed that an institution endowed with statutory enforcement authority cannot be created arbitrarily or privately without legislative enactment.
“Hisbah cannot be established without a law from the State House of Assembly, and the government has not done that,” he noted. “Therefore, people cannot simply come out and claim that they have established Hisbah.”
The JNI Secretary urged the Plateau State Government and law enforcement agencies to exercise thorough verification and due diligence when investigating sensitive security and religious allegations to prevent misinformation from stoking avoidable inter-communal friction.
Umar also appealed to social media users and digital creators to demonstrate responsibility and fact-check multimedia content before dissemination, cautioning that unverified assertions and synthetic media can undermine peaceful coexistence and fragile security in multi-ethnic societies.
