Senate President Godswill Akpabio says he has been sending people to Mecca to pray for him and Nigeria for the past 25 years, dismissing suggestions that he would speak ill of Islam.
Akpabio spoke during plenary on Thursday while responding to criticism of his comments during a debate on the Suicide Prevention Bill 2026.
On Tuesday, during consideration of the bill sponsored by Asuquo Ekpenyong, senator representing Cross River south, Akpabio said some young people contemplate suicide because “they believe seven virgins await them in the afterlife”.
His remarks sparked criticism from some commentators who accused him of denigrating Muslims.
Responding to the backlash, Akpabio said discussions in the senate should not be taken out of context or interpreted as attacks on religious groups.
“I love the Muslim religion. I send people to Mecca to pray for me and to pray for this country, and I do that even up to yesterday, and I have been doing that since the last 25 years,” he said.
“So I don’t know why people go and sit down on television and they try to misinterpret what we say here because politics is coming.”
The senate president said he was concerned that comments made during debates were being misrepresented on television programmes for political purposes.
“I don’t like the idea of people sitting down on television and trying to misinterpret what we discuss here in the senate,” he said.
“We want to make the best laws, so we are bound to oppose each other, and we are also bound to support each other.”
Akpabio also rejected suggestions that he would disparage Islam, citing his relationships with Muslims and his record of supporting religious pilgrimages while serving as governor.
He said he had sponsored 5,800 Muslims to the holy land and more than 10,000 Christians to Rome and Jerusalem.
“My ADC for 19 years is a Muslim. I don’t recognize him as a Muslim. I recognize him as a brother; he’s from Azare in Bauchi state, the same thing with my CSO,” he said.
Akpabio added that more than 65 percent of the people working for him were Muslims.
“There’s no way I will talk down on Muslim religion, so people who go out there to talk should study the personalities involved,” he said.
The senate president also argued that terrorism should not be associated with any religion, saying those who carry out suicide bombings should not use religious beliefs to justify their actions.
“Terrorists are not Muslims. Terrorists are not Christians. Terrorists are human beings who believe in taking their lives and the lives of others,” he said.
He said Islam forbids suicide and killing, adding that the religion does not teach that people who take their own lives will enter paradise.
“The Muslim religion that I know forbids suicide; it forbids killing,” he said.
Akpabio also referred to the Criminal Code and Penal Code, which he said treat suicide as a criminal act, while urging lawmakers to distinguish between people experiencing mental health challenges and those who deliberately take their lives while physically sound.
He called on Nigerians to consider the context of senate debates and the chamber’s final decisions rather than focus on isolated remarks.
“No matter the discussion, please take the final decision of the senate into consideration,” he said.
Akpabio said political discussions should focus on issues rather than attempts to damage people’s reputations.