The crisis rocking the Lagos Central Mosque snowballed into a sad twist on Wednesday, 19 March, 2025, when the Baba Adinni of Lagos, Alhaji Sikiru Alabi Macfoy was arraigned at the Santana Magistrate Court in Lagos Island, reports thegazellenews.com
This medium learnt that the bone of contention was the organisation of the Ramadan lecture of the mosque which allegedly has been strongly advised not to hold in the interest of peace.
The Chief Imam of Lagos, Sheikh Sulaiman Abou-Nolah and the state Commissioner of Police dragged the Baba Adinni to court accusing him of disrupting the Chief Imam’s Ramadan lecture fixed for Saturday, 8 March, 2025.
The Baba Adinni had honoured an invitation extended to him by the police at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti on Wednesday, 20 March, 2025 to answer to allegation of disrupting the Ramadan lecture of the Chief Imam.
However, despite his vehement denial of the allegation, he was hauled before Magistrate Owoseni of the Santana Magistrate Court.
Macfoy was granted bail after he pleaded not guilty to the charge, and Magistrate Owoseni adjourned the case for mentioning under Magistrate Paul on Wednesday, 16 April, 2025.
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, otherwise known as Jama’atul Muslimeen Council, of the Lagos Central Mosque, 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 that would conclude the Raman lecture.”
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 impasse almost precipitated a crisis, as the Chief Imam, Sheikh Sulaimon Abu-Nolla invited the Police to the Mosque on several occasions, culminating in the Police invitations 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.
However, during the latest (second) visit to CID Panti Police Station, Police pointedly accused Alhaji Alabi-Macfoy of violating the undertaking he (Alhaji Alabi-Macfoy) made during first visit to their Station, gave him little room to defend himself and took him immediately to the Court.
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 the Chief Imam, “being the spiritual head, is expected to organise the Ramadan Lecture, …..as Ramadan was around the corner.”
However, based on the advice of the senior 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, organised what looked like a Ramadan lecture, which he claimed was a Tafsir. 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.
