TheNewsGuru

Tag: islamic cleric

  • Missing Islamic cleric found dead in his car in Ogun State

    Missing Islamic cleric found dead in his car in Ogun State

    A prominent Islamic cleric and Chief Imam of Atiba community in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, Sheikh Mushafau Bakare, has been found dead.

    Sheikh Mushafau was reportedly abducted by unknown gunmen on Wednesday night.

    However, he was found dead inside his newly acquired Toyota highlander in the early hours of Thursday, around Ikangba area in Odogbolu local government area of the state.

    The Ogun state police were quick to dismiss any reports of kidnap and assassination of the late chief Imam.

    Speaking on Thursday, the Police public relations officer, DSP, Abimbola Oyeyemi said that the Sheikh may have died of hypertension as a family source revealed the autopsy conducted on him revealed no trace of violence on him.

    DSP Abimbola also stated that the body of the late Islamic cleric was found in his car by police officers from Obalende area of Ijebuode while on a routine patrol around where his car and body was found.

    He assured that the police has commenced investigation on the sudden and unnatural death to unravel the circumstance leading to his death.

    It was gathered that a search party was conducted when the Cleric said to be in his 60s was declared missing by his children, and Muslim faithful in the town.

    The search proved futile.

    The cleric was said to have been buried according to Islamic rites.

  • Mobile Court convicts Army General, Islamic cleric in Kaduna

    Mobile Court convicts Army General, Islamic cleric in Kaduna

    A Kaduna Mobile Court has convicted a renowned Islamic cleric, Sheikh Yusuf Sambo Rigachukun and his son for violating the Quarantine Order, which spells out measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.

    A statement by Commissioner of Justice and Attorney General of Kaduna State, Aisha Dikko on Monday, said the duo was arrested at Kaduna State University (KASU) junction for violating the stay- at -home order and not wearing face masks.

    The Commissioner said the cleric told the court that he was invited by Kaduna State Media Corporation (KSMC) for a radio programme, which explained why he was not observing the lockdown order.

    Aisha Dikko said: ‘’Rigachukun and his son were however both charged for not wearing facemasks and were fined N5000 each. In addition, the court asked the cleric to perform community service, by informing the public on how to stop the spread of Covid-19.’’

    The statement, which warned Kaduna residents to desist from violating the lockdown order, further said that the Kakuri mobile court had also arrested an Army General at the ‘’Toll Gate’’ area of Kaduna-Abuja expressway last Tuesday.

    The Attorney General said that Army officer, who was in full uniform, was arrested while driving in from Abuja with three other passengers who had no face masks.

    According to her: ‘’The General identified himself and said he was coming from Abuja and on a official duty. However, the court tried and convicted the other three passengers, for not complying with the stay at home order and wearing face masks.’’

    The Commissioner further said that 75 culprits were convicted out of the 105 people who violated the ban on inter-state travel at the border between Kaduna state and the Federal Capital Territory, as well as the Kaduna-Katsina state border last week.

    The statement said that the culprits were apprehended by senior officials of Kaduna State Government who were patrolling the borders and handed over to the violators to the various mobile courts.

    Aisha Dikko who warned against the violation of the Coronavirus(COVID-19) Partial Lockdown Order 2020, reminded that offenders shall be fined and in addition, may undergo community service for seven days.

  • Coronavirus: Kaduna arrests two Islamic clerics for holding public prayer meetings

    Kaduna State Government has arrested two clerics for conducting Friday congregational prayers in two communities of Kaduna North local government area, in violation of the curfew imposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

    Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan who disclosed this at a press conference on Saturday, named the culprits as; Malam Aminu Umar Usman and Malam Umar Shangel, from Malali and Unguwan Kanawa respectively.

    The commissioner said that their conduct violated government orders as well as advice given by leaders of faith, adding that the clerics will be prosecuted accordingly.

    Aruwan reiterated that, government expects compliance with the quarantine orders, which imposed curfew in the entire state ‘’and will continue to enforce them.’’

    The commissioner further warned that ‘’security agencies will enforce government orders and uphold the 24 hour curfew, until further notice. Those who seek to defy the directives stand the risk of arrest and prosecution.’’

    ‘’It should be clear that the inconveniences associated with the preventive measures, while regretted, are nothing compared to the suffering and deaths that coronavirus will cause if it is allowed to get here and spread,” he argued.

    The Kaduna State Government commends ‘’citizens that are abiding by the terms of the quarantine imposed on the state as a preventive measure against Covid-19,’’ he said.

    ‘’The state government is especially grateful to religious and community leaders who have joined in appealing to the public to abide by public health warnings.

    ‘’However, government has also sadly noted that certain individuals, including clerics, are violating the restriction of movement, large gatherings, trading and congregational prayers,’’ he noted.

    According to the commissioner, such violations are ‘’patently illegal and irresponsible conduct, at a time that requires sober and rational conduct to protect our people from coronavirus.’’

  • Bandits abduct popular Islamic cleric, five others in Katsina — Police

    Popular Kano-based Quranic reciter, Sheikh Ahmad Sulaiman and five other persons have been kidnapped in Katsina State.

    The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Katsina State Police Command, SP Gambo Isa, told reporters yesterday in Katsina that the police were already on the trail of the kidnappers with a view to rescuing the victims.

    Isa urged the general public to continue to provide police with information on criminals and their activities with a view to safeguard peoples’ lives and property.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) said the victims were kidnapped on Thursday night on Sheme-Kankara road on their way back to Kano State after attending an Islamic event in Kebbi State.

    The State police command also confirmed yesterday, the the release of the mother-in-law to Gov. Aminu Masari of Katsina State, Hajiya Hauwa Yusuf by kidnappers.

    Hajiya Hauwa, the mother to one of the governor’s wives, Hajiya Binta, was abducted a week ago at her residence in Katsina metropolis.

    Gambo, in confirming the release said: “I am very happy to inform you that the old woman has been released by her abductors in the early hours of the day (Friday).

    ‘’She is hale and hearty, and has already been reunited with her family after necessary medical checkup.’’

    Meanwhile, the police have arrested an alleged notorious member of a kidnap syndicate in Batsari Local Government Area of the state.

    Isa said that the suspect attacked the house of one Mustapha Sani and attempted to kidnap his two wives.

    According to him, the combined team of police and vigilance group members promptly pursued the suspect and succeeded in rescuing the two women.

    ‘’The command will continue to solicit for the cooperation and support of the public in the fight against kidnappers and banditry,’’ he said.

  • Islamic cleric caught on video camera defiling 5-Yr-old pupil

    Islamic cleric caught on video camera defiling 5-Yr-old pupil

    A 43-year-old Islamic studies teacher, Abdulsalam Salaudeen, has been arrested by operatives of the Lagos State Police Command for defiling a five-year-old girl.

    The arrest was made possible by an informant, who walked into the Police Command to provide video evidence of the defiling of the pupil by the cleric cum teacher.

    Salaudeen, who lives 16, Awoyemi Street, Igando Road, Ikotun, Lagos, was recorded on video while engaging in the act.

    After watching the video, the Commissioner, Lagos State Police Command, Edgal Imohim, directed the command’s undercover operatives attached to the State Intelligence Bureau to immediately arrest the culprit and hand him over to the Gender Section for detailed investigation.

    The operatives went in search of Salaudeen and arrested him near a mosque in Igando, a suburb of Lagos.

    A statement by the police spokesman, Chike Oti, said Salaudeen was taken to the Gender Unit, where the Officer-in-Charge, Abimbola Williams, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, confronted him with the video of him defiling the child by penetrating her anus and private parts.

    “On seeing himself captured like an actor in a movie, the suspect broke down in tears and owned up to the crime,” Oti said.

    The case, he added, will be charged to court as soon as the investigation is concluded.

    Oti said: “The CP, while commending the courageous act of the good Nigerian, warned parents and guardians to keep constant watch over their children and wards.

    “Nobody should be trusted. Be friends with your children and let them be free to share things with you.

    “Do not cover up any crime, no matter who is involved. Raise the alarm on child molesters in your neighbourhood so they can face the law and other nursing such thoughts can be deterred.”

  • Police nab pastor, Islamic cleric, two others with human parts

    Oyo State Police Command on Thursday paraded an Islamic cleric (Alfa), a pastor, and two others, who were allegedly caught with suspected human parts in the Ayegun area of Ibadan.

    The state Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Odude, said Alfa, Sulaiman Hamed, 35, participated in the Fidau prayers for a dead man but later contracted two men to exhume the corpse because he needed the body parts for money ritual.

    The two accomplices – Olapade Saheed, 32, and Olatunji Abiodun, 26 – were later caught with the deceased’s head and other body parts, leading to the arrest of Hamed and Tope Akinyele, 45, who claimed to be the pastor of a church in Ojagbo, in the Oranyan area of Ibadan.

    Hamed said he usually paid N2,500 for human flesh which he used in making money charm for his clients.

    He said, “Someone introduced Saheed and Abiodun to me. I gave them N2,500 to help me find human flesh. We all met at Ayegun junction, Ibadan. Around 10pm, I took them to a grave where a body that was brought from Warri, Delta State, was buried.

    “I took part in the prayers for the deceased before he was buried. I left them (Saheed and Abiodun) there, but they refused to let me go. They said they wanted to sleep in my house that night. I got them a place close to my house.

    “In the early hours of the second day, they came to me with a cellophane bag. I did not check what was inside, but I hanged it on the wall of my house. I was on my way to my office in Ile-Tuntun when I saw them in the midst of a crowd with a human head.

    “I use human flesh to make money ritual for people and I pay N2,500 for the flesh. In this case, the charm was for myself. I did not ask them to cut off the head and it was not in my possession when the police came.”

    In his statement, Saheed said Alfa paid them N1,500 to do the job and that he took them to the grave of the deceased.

    “Alfa called us for a job at Ayegun. When we got there, he showed us a grave three houses away from his house. After we finished the job (of exhuming and cutting off body parts), he took what he needed from the remains of the dead man and asked us to dispose of the rest.

    “We left early in the morning. But on our way, a local vigilance group stopped us and asked what was in the bag we carried. They beat us up after realising that there was a human head and other body parts in the bag. The police later came to arrest us,” he said.

    Odude said the police would continue to rid the state of criminals, noting that the suspects would be charged to court at the end of investigation.

  • Islamic cleric arrested with heart, private parts in Lagos

    Lagos State Police Command has arrested an acclaimed Islamic cleric, Abdulfatai Kayode, with suspected human parts on Okedumola Street, Alakuko area of the state.

    Female private parts, a kidney, intestines, a heart, lap, among other human parts, were allegedly found in his apartment.

    Kayode was apprehended on Tuesday when the state Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, led operatives to the community.

    The suspect said the parts were given to him by a herbalist identified simply as Sadiq for safekeeping.

    He said, “Sadiq aka Ifa gave them to me. We intended to use them for money rituals for a client. A man brought the parts to Ifa too. I don’t know where the person lives. I have been an Alfa for 10 years, but I have never prepared any money ritual with human parts before. This is my first time.”

    Sadiq, who lives on Amje Igbeleyi Street, Alakuko, was not at home when the operatives visited his residence. It was learnt that Sadiq was arrested later in the day.

    Imohimi attributed the arrests to effective community policing.

    “The recovered human parts, which included female private parts, heart, kidney and lap, were stored in a container mixed with liquid substance,” he added.

  • Police arraign Islamic cleric for insulting Emir Sanusi

    Police arraign Islamic cleric for insulting Emir Sanusi

    The Nigeria Police has arraigned a renowned Islamic cleric, Shiek Nasiru Bazallah, before a Kano Magistrate Court for allegedly insulting the Emir of Kano, Mallam Lamido Sanusi, with the intent to provoke a breach of peace.

    The prosecution alleged that the cleric incited disturbance and attempted to defame the character of the monarch, contrary to Section 114, 392 and 399 of the penal code.

    First Information Report stated that on May 8, 2017 Emir Sanusi lodged a complaint to the Kano State Commissioner of Police, alleging that the defendant, on March 20, 2017, acted in a manner which defamed the monarch’s character.

    Furthermore, the report alleged that the Islamic scholar gathered his adherents at Goron Dutse quarters, where he made statements to incite disturbance and defame the monarch.

    But the defendant said the allegations levelled against him were false, urging the court to admit him to bail.

    However, police prosecutor, Inspector Haziel Ledapwa, informed the court that police investigation was still in progress.

    In his ruling, the presiding magistrate, Hassan Fagge, granted the defendant bail in the sum of N1m, including two reliable sureties.

    He ruled that the two sureties must be directors at any federal ministry.

  • Ban on multiple wives: Islamic cleric, Daurawa warns Sanusi not to violate Quran’s

    Ban on multiple wives: Islamic cleric, Daurawa warns Sanusi not to violate Quran’s

    An Islamic cleric and Kano State Commander-General of the Hibah Board, Sheikh Aminu Ibrahim Daurawa, has reacted to the plan by the Emir of kano, Muhammadu Sanusi, to propose a law that restricts poor men in the emirate from marrying many wives.

    Recall that Sanusi had divulged his plans, saying he would ensure that the law would be passed by the Kano State Government as a way of immortalizing Ambasador Isa Wali, a former Nigerian High Commissioner to Ghana, who was one of the first northern elements to advocate gender equality.

    But the cleric, in his reaction, said the Emir’s plan will violate the Quran.

    Speaking with BBC Hausa, Daurawa said the criteria for marrying another wife as contained in the Quran should be strictly followed.

    Daurawa advised the monarch to focus on enlightening the people on the intricacies of polygamy.

    He said, “Allah’s position on marriage is sacrosanct as stated in the Holy Quran and any infringement is nullity.

    “What needs to be done is not enactment of a law that would bar the poor from marrying more than one wife but rather enlightenment on the intricacies of polygamy.

    “There about 13 criteria to be followed before one qualifies to marry a second wife and this include been just and caring to the wife as been enshrined in the Holy Quran should be strictly followed,”