Lagos Central Mosque Impasse: Imam Drags Baba Adinni, To Court

By Abdulfattah Abdussalam

In a press release, the Executive Council, otherwise known as Jama’atul Muslimeen Council, of the Lagos Central Mosque, headed by Alhaji Sikiru Alabi-Macfoy, the Baba Adinni of Lagos, countered the narrative in the public domain by chronologically explaining the true situation in the mosque from its point of view.

It should be noted that of late, the Lagos Central mosque is embroiled in a needless contest for the control of the mosque authority. At the centre of the saga is Alhaji Sikiru Alabi-Macfoy, the Baba Adinni of Lagos, who heads the administrative and Management arm of the mosque, and the Chief Imam, Sheikh Engr. Sulaimon Abou-Nolla, who heads the Missionary arm of the mosque.  On the surface to an average watcher of mosque administrations in South-west, Nigeria, the struggle for authority in the mosque is needless because the constitution that governs the mosque activities is explicit.

What started as a misunderstanding has snowballed into family feuds, according to sources the constitution gives executive powers to the executive council of the mosque to administer all aspects of the mosque, while the Imam, handles the missionary aspect. This has been the practice, until lately.  The confusion arose, when the chief imam, sent out notices to conduct a Ramadan Lecture for the mosque, which is an unknown action in the history of the mosque.  According to sources, no Chief Imam has ever conducted a Ramadan Lecture, as his role is only to give the benediction prayer that would conclude the Ramadan lecture. Customarily, it has always been the burden of the Jama’atul Muslimeen Council, of the Lagos Central Mosque to organize the annual Ramadan Lecture. But in obedience to the court order, and intervention of well-meaning Muslims, it called off this year’s Ramadan lecture, which it had publicized and invited guest speakers to attend.

Chief Imam is the head of Spiritual Council that conducts prayers and overseas affairs of Rattibi Mosques; Mission Board is a unit under Exco arm to plan and implement ceremonial and traditional activities – Ramadan Lecture, marriages, pilgrims etc., of the Mosque. It has members of Spiritual Council as well and works closely with the Chief Imam.

However, in an unprecedented move, and a sad twist, Sheikh Engr. Sulaimon Abou-Nolla, the chief Imam of Lagos has taken Alhaji Sikiru Alabi-Macfoy, the Baba Adinni of Lagos, to court for purported breach of peace in the Mosque. The court case is another court case different from the case earlier instituted by another group of worshippers in the mosque contesting the appointment of Alhaji Sikiru Alabi-Macfoy as the new Baba Adinni of Lagos Central Mosque and the struggle to take over the administrative control of the mosque from Jama’atul Muslimeen Council, of the Lagos Central Mosque as headed by him.

In the said case, whose ruling is seen by our source the Learned Trial Judge ruled on  26th February 2025 that all the parties should maintain the status quo until the hearing of the applications pending before the Court as follows:  “The order of the Court will be that all the parties to this suit are hereby restrained from any act or inaction that is likely to cause breach of the peace consequently all the parties are hereby ordered to maintain status quo pending the hearing of the originating summons which I shall hear at the next adjournment date together with the pending preliminary objection.”.

Aside from the court cases, the contest attracted intervention from well-meaning Lagosians and the government of Lagos state, who pleaded for peace to reign in the Mosque. However, the latest court case by the Chief Imam of Lagos Central Mosque and his letter to the police seeking maximum security coverage at the Lagos Central Mosque during the Ramadan period and beyond is viewed by many as desperation to take over the central mosque and it is inimical to peace in the mosque, as pledged by parties.

Alhaji Sikiru Alabi-Macfoy is the only surviving Trustee member of Lagos Central Mosque and was selected as the new Baba Adinni of Lagos in a keenly contested selection process won with a landslide vote.  Worshippers at the mosque attest to the peaceful nature of Alhaji Sikiru Alabi-Macfoy, as someone who cannot cause any breach of peace at the Mosque as alleged by the Imam, but will only allow the court to adjudicate over the matter and declare the rights of the parties per the constitution of the Lagos Central Mosque and the Law.

Lagos Central Mosque is an important jum’at mosque on Lagos Island and home of the chief Imam of Lagos. It is situated at Nnamdi Azikwe Street in the heart of Lagos Island. The first central mosque in Lagos was developed by the Jamat Muslim Council of Lagos who established an executive council of the Lagos Central Mosque around 1905. The old mosque was completed in July 1913 and served the Lagos community for 70 years, before it was rebuilt in 1988  by the late Chief Wahab Iyanda Folawiyo the then Baba Adinin of Nigeria, and commissioned by the then  President, General Ibrahim Babangida on May 28, 1988.

Below is the full press release from the General Secretary, Lookman Seriki as authorized by the Mosque’s Executive Council.

PRESS RELEASE

RAMADAN LECTURE: CHIEF IMAM OF LAGOS, POLICE, DRAGS THE BABA ADINNI, ALABI-MACFOY, TO COURT.

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 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 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 accusations 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 Baba Adinni’s spirited effort to defend himself, that the allegation was a pure fabrication, intimidation and part of a sinister plot to silence him and create the impression of instability, the police went ahead to immediately arrange 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 10 am.”

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 Ramadan 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 invitation 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 the first visit to the Station, which 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’s 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 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 lectures on the first Saturday of Ramadan.

But the following Saturday, March 8th, 2025, in defiance of the State’s 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.

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