Lagos Islamic leaders unleash violence over leadership tussle
Two Islamic leaders have continued to bicker over who should be the chief imam of Epe, one of the five divisions of Lagos state. The feuding clerics are Abdullateef Oladapo and Abdulkabir Oriyomi. Last Friday, the two clerics and their supporters clashed over who between them should lead the Jumat prayer at the Central Mosque, Ita Opo.
Following the violence, the assistant inspector-general of police, Zone II command, deployed operatives to keep the peace and seal the mosque.
The police equally arrested one of the belligerents, Oriyomi, but later released him.
TheCornet gathered the rivalry between Oladapo and Oriyomi dates back to 2012, when community leaders brokered a truce between them. As part of the agreement, the community made Oladapo the chief imam of the mosque in 2012 and similarly made his rival, Oriyomi, the leader of another mosque in the same Epe division.
However, a member of the Peace Committee of the Central Mosque, Alhaji Fariu Arebi in a chat with our correspondent yesterday said the committee is exploring an amicable resolution to the crisis even as he said some members of the community are breaching the 2012 agreement.
Those with knowledge of the crisis said it is the fallout of the distrust and rivalry between Epe natives of Ijebu origin and their counterparts from Lagos.
