Report vsays there is a palpable tension in Ikare AKOKO over alleged plot to stop the Grand Chief Imam of the town, Sheikh Abass Abubakar Muhammad to lead muslim prayers as directed by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
Governor Aiyedatiwa had on Tuesday during an iftar – breaking of fast session with Muslim leaders in the state, ordered the reopening of the mosque and reinstatement of Alhaji Muhammad as Grand Chief Imam who was recently appointed as the State Vice Chairman of the Ondo State League of Imams and Alfas.
The Governor who said the Olukare of Ikare, Oba Akadiri Momoh as well as the Grand Mufti of Ikare and Ondo state, Sheikh Shehu Batuta and the Grand Chief Imam, Sheikh Abubakar to ensure that the directive of reopening the mosque is effected.
Sheikh Abubakar was recently appointed by the State Vice Chairman of the Ondo State League of Imams and Alfas by a special committee chaired by Sheikh Shehu Batuta.
It would be recalled that the Ondo State government, led by the then Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, shut down the Ikare Central Mosque in Ikare-Akoko on October 18, 2022, to prevent violent clashes.
The closure was necessitated by a leadership dispute regarding an alleged plot to remove the Grand Chief Imam, Sheikh Abubakar Muhammed Abbas by the Ikare Muslim Council; an action that caused tension and safety concerns on October 10, 2022, which was rejected by majority of other Islamic bodies in the town and the state.
However, latest report from the town shows that the Central Mosque has been reopened for cleaning after 4years of closure, as directed the Governor but Muslim community in the town is still divided.
Majority of the Muslim stakeholders who mostly quarters Imams and youth Muslims are fully in support of the decision of the Governor ordering Sheikh Abass Abubakar Muhammad to continue to lead Eid and Jumat prayers.
But the Olukare’s Owalukare Ruling family in Ikare, Akoko northeast council area through a petition to the Governor and the Attorney General, rejected an order by the Governor of the state, Hon. Lucky Aiyedatiwa for the reinstatement of Alhaji Abbas Muhammad, as Grand Chief Imam of the town.
The petition also showed that one Alhaji Bisiriyu Temidire had been appointed by the Olukare as the new Chief Imam of the town.
When asked why the new Imam has not assumed office and lead prayers, counsel to the petitioners, Mr Aidi, SAN, said the closure of the mosque by the government was why the new imam never performed his duty.
It is expected that the Eid and Jumat prayers will be offered in the town tomorrow Friday, March 20, but the threat by both sides of the Muslim community to push their own case may lead to breach of peace in the area.
Some residents who spoke with our reporter, called on Governor Aiyedatiwa to order security agencies to enforce his directive to prevent breach of peace in the Ikare or the Governor should close the central mosque for further engagements with the stakeholders to prevent bloodshed.
