The Chief Imam of Lagos, Sheikh Sulaiman Abou-Nolah, along with the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, has dragged the Baba Adinni of Lagos, Alhaji Sikiru Alabi-Macfoy, to the Santana Magistrate Court, Tinubu in Lagos Island alleging disruption of Ramadan Lecture, he (Chief Imam) scheduled for Saturday, March 8th, 2025. This was against the strong advice of the Higher Authority in Lagos State that both parties should not conduct any Ramadan lecture in the interest of peace.
The Baba Adinni, Alhaji Sikiru Alabi Macfoy, was arraigned, without any prior notification, in the Santana Court on the very day, Wednesday, 18 March, 2025, when, in honour of the invitation, he presented himself at the Criminal Investigation Department Police Station (CID, Panti) at Musliu Smith Street, in Lagos Mainland, Yaba.
Alhaji Macfoy was granted bail after pleading not guilty to the charge, and Magistrate Owoseni postponed the case for mentioning under Magistrate Paul on April 16th, 2025.
The police claimed that their decision was based on accusation made by Messers Lateef Bakare, Azeez Aboaba and Salvador, who represented the Chief Imam at the Panti Police Station, “along with their own (Police) preliminary investigation.
Despite the Baba Adinni spirited effort to defend himself that the allegation was a pure fabrication, intimidation and part of sinister plot to silence him and create impression of instability in the Mosque, the police went ahead to immediately arraign him at the Court.
A brief background to the case would be necessary here. According to several credible sources, “from the time immemorial, it has been the Constitutional obligation and tradition of The Executive Council of the Lagos Central Mosque, otherwise known as Jama’atul Muslimeen Council, through its Mission Board, to plan and implement annual Ramadan lecture at every first Saturday of Ramadan; thus Mission Board scheduled this year’s Ramadan lecture for Saturday, March 1st, 2025, at the Lagos Central Mosque, to commence at 10am.
According to sources, no Chief Imam “has ever conducted Ramadan Lecture, as his role “is only to give the benediction prayer concluded in the programme. However, in an unprecedented move, the current Chief Imam, Sheikh Sulaimon Abou-Nolla, scheduled his own parallel Ramadan lecture for the same day, time and venue, as that of the Mission Board.
The Chief Imam, Sheikh Sulaimon Abu-Nolla, with the backing of certain authority in Lagos Island, who are not directly connected to the internal affairs of the Mosque, invited the Police to the Mosque on several occasions, culminating in the Police invitations (and intimidation) of the Baba Adinni, Alhaji Sikiru Alabi-Macfoy to different police stations on at least five occasions, where he was asked to write (on two occasions including at the CID, Panti) statement and give undertaking that he would be of good conduct and would not engage in any act that could lead to a breach of peace at the Central Mosque. This injustice and abuse of human rights should be stopped.
It is pertinent to mention here that, it was in a related case that Alhaji Femi Okunnu (SAN) had sued Alhaji Sikiru Alabi-Macfoy to the Federal High Court, Lagos Division at Ikoyi; but Alhaji Femi Okunnu’ lawyers could not get an injunction prayed to restrain Alhaji Alabi-Macfoy from parading himself as Baba Adinni, as, the Judge insisted on hearing the merits of the case before he could decide on the judgment.
In fact, it was after much pleading by the lawyers representing Alhaji Femi Okunnu (SAN), that the Presiding Judge, Lewis Allagoa, advised that for peace to reign amid the brouhaha, the Chief Imam, “being the spiritual head, is expected to conduct the Ramadan Lecture, …..as Ramadan was around the corner.
However, based on the advice of the Higher Authority in Lagos State, both parties did not hold Ramadan lecture on the first Saturday of Ramadan
But the following Saturday, March 8th, 2025, in defiance of the State advice, the Chief Imam, Sheikh Abu-Nolla, organized rotational Ramadan lecture. It was this programme, he alleged that Alhaji Sikiru Alabi-Macfoy, the Baba Adinni, disrupted. However, Alhaji Alabi-Macfoy, the Baba Adinni, said he was nowhere near the venue of the lecture, not to talk of disrupting it.
