LAGOS, Nigeria – The Chief Imam of Lagos, Sheikh Sulaiman Abou-Nolah, along with the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, have dragged the Baba Adinni of Lagos, Alhaji Sikiru Alabi-Macfoy, to the Saint Anna Magistrate Court, Tinubu in Lagos Island alleging disruption of Ramadan Lecture, that he (Chief Imam), scheduled for Saturday, March 8th, 2025.
This was against the strong advice of the senior 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 Saint Anna Court on the very day, Wednesday, 19 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 Damola Paul on April 16th, 2025.
The police claimed that their decision was based on accusation made by Messrs 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’s 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, the police went ahead to immediately arrainge 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, 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 injuction 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 reing amid the broahaha, 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.
