Lagos Central Mosque Crisis Deepens As Chief Imam Moves To Oust Executive Council
. Allegedly Lock Out Executives
. No, Chief Imam, You Cannot Be Spiritual Head As Well As Administrative Head, Baba Adini Insists
. I Will Revert As Soon As Issue Is Resolved, Says Chief Imam
The lingering crisis rocking the leadership of Lagos Central Mosque may have degenerated as the Chief Imam of the mosque Sheikh Sulaiman Abou-Nolah moves to oust the current executive council of the mosque.
The Chief Imam, in a letter sighted by Slye News has constituted a new ad hoc subcommittee to take over the affairs of the mosque in the interim, citing the order by the Hon. Justice Edward Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos Division.
The Baba Adini of Lagos and the Chairman of the Executive Council of the mosque, Alhaji Sikiru Alabi-Macfoy, in a response to this development, urged the Chief Imam to retrace his steps from the “ill-advised and reckless acts, in the interest of peace and order, in the interest of our Mosque and for the observance of all that are decent, honoured and good”.
Alabi-Macfoy said: “We are alarmed by the list of people you assembled to run the Mosque affairs with you. It confirms what we believe all along that your actions are motivated not by the interest of the Mosque but by your inordinate self-centered ambition for absolute power in the Mosque.”
Members of the ad hoc subcommittee appointed by the Chief Imam are: Chief Imam- to head the Team-, Alhaji Tajudeen Ojikutu, Ganiu Labinjo, Rear Admiral Surahudeen Olanrewaju, Alhaji Shuaib Buraimoh, Otunba Saheed Lawal, Eng. Nasir Giwa, Alhaja Folashade Lediju, Alhaja Fatimoh Oyefeso, Alhaji Tunde Danmole, Barrister Bakare ( Representing Niji Kazeem-SAN), Barrister Ridwan Ayanbiyi (Representing Dr. Kemi Pinheiro-SAN), Barrister Hassan Lawal (Representing Dr. Kemi Pinheiro) and Imam Shakiru Gafar.
Baba-Adini said: “We observed that most of these people you selected are mostly outsiders, with little or no connection with the Central Mosque, a couple of them are noted for their radical ideologies, hostile to the over two centuries old cherished tradition of our Mosque, inimical to its interests and potential threat to the peace and order in the Islamic community of Lagos.
“We have noted that some of the members in your proposed team are the representatives of the Plaintiffs’ lawyers contesting the administrative rights of the Executive Council being led by me in a regime you are serving as the Chief Imam!
“We are aware that you are already taking steps in the unfortunate misadventure by directing your bodyguards- bouncers- to lock the doors to our offices, and you have stationed them at the entrance of the main gate of the mosque.
“Please retrace your steps immediately from these ill-advised and reckless acts, in the interest of peace and order, in the interest of our Mosque and for the observance of all that are decent, honoured and good.
“Please, Sheikh Sulaimon Abu-Nolla, retrace your steps out of respect for the Court and the Hon. Chief Justice Edward Allagoa who gave his gentlemanly advice for you to take charge of Ramadan Lecture for the duration of the holy month in the interest of peace and harmony in the Mosque.
“Perhaps, we should enlighten you more on the limits of the purported order from the Court on which you justify the illegal action you have been taking in recent times, especially since April, 7th 2025.
“The court order you rely on does not mandate you to lock the offices of the Executive Council or any other part of the mosque. You are just taking the laws into your hands, and we shall report you to the relevant authorities. I advise you to open those offices forthwith.
“The said order, which to your knowledge, is already being challenged does not also mandate you to set up a parallel body to the Executive Council of the Mosque. There is no order stopping the Executive Council from holding its meetings. The Council is not, in any event, a party to the action. So, please caution yourself.
“You can not by the order, replace with your propose “support team”, experienced members of the Executive Council, who have been duly nominated by their peoples and thus representing their respective peoples from the four divisions in Lagos Island namely: Isale-Eko/Idumota, Oko Faji, Olowogbowo and Popo Aguda/Brazilian Quarters. This was the way for over 200 years; it should remain the way now, as the system has been working for us fantastically well.
“No, Chief Imam, you can not be an administrative head, as no Chief Imam has ever combined these very complex and taxing functions with the equally enormous responsibility of a spiritual head. This will be a tragic violation of the sanctity of our Mosque. Do not let this aberration start from you. For, the people of Lagos Island, who own the Mosque will surely resist.
“ The advice offered by the Honourable Justice Allagoa that you, the Chief Imam should take charge of Ramadan Lecture, has in no way mandated you to take charge of the administrative activities of the Central Mosque. And so you have no right to want to take charge of the “Mosque affairs” while acting on this short, inadvertently wrongly worded phrase. This mischievous deliberate liberal interpretation of the phrase, on a suit whose merit has not been heard, is an insult on the collective intelligence of all Lagosians and particularly an insult to the court.
“It is on our record that you have taken several actions contravening our registered Constitution and valued tradition, since you were appointed as the Chief Imam in 2017, and it is in the record of the general public that you have taken several irrational actions recently.
“It should be recalled that you the Chief Imam, Sheikh Sulaiman Abou-Nolah, reported to the Police that I, Baba Adinni, Alhaji Sikiru Alabi-Macfoy, was preventing you from carrying out your spiritual duties, “in contravention of purported order,” which the police acted upon to invite me to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba for questioning and immediately arraignment at the Saint Anna Magistrate Court on March 19th, 2025. The adjournment date is April 16th; the entire Lagosians are waiting to hear how you can prove this ridiculous accusation.
“Note, that as pointed out by our lawyers, Messers Adekunle Oyesanya LP Esq, the order you have did not emanate from the “proceedings of the court; so it could not be the order.
“Our lawyers have reiterated that the only order of the Court pronounced by Honourable Judge Allagoa “is that all parties should maintain status-quo.” This, they believed, “is the order” that everyone should adhere to for the sake of peace and prevention of breakdown of law and order.
“A more than cursory comparison of the court proceedings and the order will confirm that maintenance of the status-quo by all the parties is the order of the Court.
“But, your actions since you got this “order” are in direct contradiction to the real intentions of the Hon. Justice Allagoa. The Hon. Judge wanted peace, but you have repeatedly been taking steps that could engender a crisis.
“You have deliberately used the order to mislead the police who have been acting on it to frequently visit the Central Mosque and to invite, on many occasions, individual members of the Executive Council and administrative staff to their stations.” You have, on the excuse of implementing the order, asked for enhanced police protection, even when you surrounded yourself with a retinue of muscle bound bouncers and fierce looking hanger-ons.
“You have written to our banks to stop our financial transactions with the intention to paralyse administration activities. You have written to our banks asking for permission to open new bank accounts in the name of the Central Mosque, and when you were refused you threaten them with Court action on the basis of the purported order.
“You have succeeded in creating this atmosphere of fear, repressed anger, suspicion and uncertainty in the House of Allah (SWT) because of your acts that bordered on intimidation and harassment.
“You have done many unpardonable acts, but we have been condoning your actions as our priority is peace and order in our Mosque and great our State-Lagos. We have implore you to see reasons why you have to amend your ways; we have invited prominent Muslims and Lagosians to prevail on you; we have prayed for you, hoping for better cooperation from you. All to no avail. It has become obvious to us that you desired this crisis to create an excuse for the actualisation of your obsessive idea of taking over the administrative affairs of the Mosque and use it as a springboard to spread your “Revolution” to all other mosques in Lagos and environs.
“It is pertinent to note here that the Executive Council has written to the state government, higher authorities, law enforcement agencies and prominent individuals that you, the Chief Imam had been running, for years, a parallel administration and engaging in many activities that were in clear contraventions of the Central Mosque’s constitution and inimical to the development of our Mosque.
“But, your action of wanting to take over the Mosque tips the scale; we can not allow it to happen; the real Jumu’atul Muslimeen Council will not allow it; the good people of Lagos Island, who are spiritually, emotionally and financially attached to their heritage, the iconic Lagos Central Mosque-built by the sweat of their forefathers-, will not allow you. The communities of Lagos own the Mosque, not any Chief Imam, not any other person” he stated.
Meanwhile, the Chief Imam, in the letter declared that he would resume the administration of the mosque on Monday, 7th of April, 2025.
He assured that “as soon as the issues relating to the office of the Baba Adini of Lagos Central Mosque are fully resolved in court, the Chief Imam will yield the administrative office to the new Baba Adini of the mosque or as may be otherwise adjudged”.
