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The Muslim Ummah in Enugu has dismissed the ₦100 million embezzlement claim as an “imaginary figure,” noting that the centre survives on meager donations from worshippers and has never handled such an amount in its history.
The Enugu State Police Command has ignited a firestorm of protest from the Muslim community following the arrest and continued detention of the Director of the Islamic Centre, Uwani, Alhaji Musa Ani, and the Sarikin Hausawa of Enugu, Alhaji Suleiman Haruna Sule.
The duo, described as respected leaders of faith, SaharaReporters gathered are being held at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) over an alleged embezzlement of ₦100 million—a charge the community insists is a “trumped-up” fabrication aimed at humiliating the Islamic leadership in the state.
According to a petition for urgent intervention sent to the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, by the Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network (CRRAN), dated March 1, the ordeal began on Friday, February 27, 2026.
According to the petition, Alhaji Musa Ani, 74, was arrested at the Islamic Centre on the strength of a petition written by one Alhaji Ezeani Ibrahim, a tenant in the centre’s business premises. On Saturday, February 28, the Sarikin Hausawa, Alhaji Suleiman Haruna Sule, visited the police headquarters to seek bail for the octogenarian but was himself slammed into a cell on the orders of the Commissioner of Police, who is also a Muslim.
The Muslim Ummah in Enugu has dismissed the ₦100 million embezzlement claim as an “imaginary figure,” noting that the centre survives on meager donations from worshippers and has never handled such an amount in its history.
“This is purely a civil matter rooted in internal disagreements within the mosque,” said Olu Omotayo Esq., President of CRRAN, who signed the petition on behalf of the Muslim community.
“The police have been compromised to embarrass the Sarikin Hausawa and the entire Muslim community over a trumped-up allegation.”
Omotayo further condemned the police’s habit of arresting high-profile citizens on Fridays—a tactic known as the “Friday Trap”—to ensure they are detained over the weekend without access to legal redress.
SaharaReporters was informed that the Enugu State Police Command has plans to rush the community leaders to a Magistrate Court to secure a remand order, effectively bypassing their right to a fair hearing.
In his appeal to the NSA, the Inspector General of Police, and Governor Peter Mbah, Omotayo demanded the immediate release of the senior citizens.
“Every suicide attempt is a cry for help, and every unlawful detention is an assault on the constitution,” he argued, noting that the detainees were denied the opportunity to defend themselves before being “hounded into a police cell.”
The timing of the arrest has caused significant tension, as the Muslim community prepares for religious obligations.
The petitioners are demanding that the “senior citizens” be allowed to reunite with their families for the month of Ramadan, insisting that any financial dispute should be handled by the Mosque’s Steering Committee rather than the police.
