Bashir Ahmad, an assistant to the President on New Media, has made known his support for Minister of Information and the Digital Economy, Isa Pantami over extremist opinions.

His posturing for Mr Pantami to retain his position as Minister was made before the minister purportedly apologised and renounced his pro-terrorism views.

Mr Ahmad, via his handle, tweeted a photoset of quotes from Mr Pantami in solidarity with the communications minister who has been in the eye of the storm for the extremist Islamic views he expressed in his past sermons as a preacher.

Mr Ahmad himself has never shied away from fundamental extremism. In 2015, he openly supported the passing of death sentences on nine people for alleged blasphemy.

The accused were said to have described Sheikh Ibrahim Niasse, the Senegalese founder of the Tijaniyya sect, as being greater than Prophet Mohammed.

While enraged Nigerians campaigned for the discharge of the nine convicts with the hashtag #SaveKanoNine, Mr Ahmad tweeted, “I can’t pretend or keep silent. I support the death penalty for blasphemy. That’s my belief and I do not and will never support #SaveKanoNine.”

Mr Pantami has faced backlash and calls for his resignation after videos and audio clips of some of his lectures made in the 2000s surfaced on social media.

In these videos, Mr Pantami is seen and heard being sympathetic to the causes of extremist groups like Al-Qaeda and Taliban and actively makes a case for them.

The minister however told Peoples Gazette that he neither supports terrorism nor harbours hatred towards people of other religions, pointing that his personal driver and other aides are practicing Christians.