Therefore, it is believed that he sent a message requesting the use of his influence to secure his release after the former was exiled in 1923 from Kano to Bua in British Cameroon. Nigerian authorities also presented a number of letters written by Sayyid, the content of which suggests that Sayyid urged his followers there to join the "doctrine" and hinted at the imminent outbreak of an uprising against Christians (13). Specifically, H.R. Palmer and C.W.J. Leith, officials in the Nigerian administration, were responsible for accusing Sayyid of being behind the Mahdist movement in Nigeria. The latter's accusation stated that, "in a word," the Mahdist movement in Nigeria in the name of Abd al-Rahman appeared to be exactly similar to that carried out by his accredited agents in Darfur, and that "Abd al-Rahman" and his direct agents were responsible for this as they were for that" (14).

It appears that this extreme view adopted by the Nigerian authorities regarding Abd al-Rahman's role in the Mahdist activity in northern Nigeria influenced the British government. The latter dispatched Leith in November 1924, who was considered knowledgeable in Nigerian politics and language, to visit Sudan, Jeddah, and Egypt to study the issue. In any case, Leith reiterated in his report what had already been asserted, that Sayyid Abd al-Rahman and his delegates were involved in these activities. Furthermore, the British government seemed to have for some time desired that the Mahdiyya still be a living issue that it could address. It could develop into a movement capable of challenging the British in Sudan and the French in Central Africa. In this regard, contacts were made by the British Foreign Office with the French government to ensure better coordination and information flow between British officials in Nigeria and their counterparts in French Equatorial Africa concerning the Mahdiyya.

The British government, fearing the alleged danger of the new Mahdiyya, directed the matter to be investigated by the committee responsible for Imperial Defence. This Defence Committee formed another body to prepare reports on the arrangements to be made in the event of any Mahdist movement in Sudan and to make recommendations on the best ways to secure the situation in that region (15). Although that report ruled out the possibility of a direct revolution "for religious reasons," the Imperial Defence Committee ordered the air force in Sudan to be reinforced with a squadron of aircraft as a precaution against the possibility of the Mahdiyya emerging.

Sayyid Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi may have contacted Mallam Said and other Mahdist leaders in northern Nigeria. In fact, the followers of Dan Fodio maintained relations with Sayyid, whom they considered their spiritual leader. Among the private papers of Sayyid Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi, preserved in the National Archives in Khartoum, are letters addressed to him from that family requesting