Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Nigeria Police in Enugu State have barred the Chief Imam of Owerri Road Central Mosque, Imam Murtala Dahiru, and other Muslim leaders from attending Jumat (Friday) services, in a move the Council of Ulamas and Imams Enugu State alleges is politically motivated by a government appointee, Alhaji Yusuf Sambo. Sambo, the factional Seriki Hausawa of Enugu State, is also the Special Assistant to Governor Peter Mbah on Special Duties.
The ban allegedly followed a petition Sambo wrote to the police claiming that he had removed Imam Dahiru as Chief Imam. The Council insists Sambo has no authority to remove an Imam, saying only the Council of Ulamas and Imams, which appointed Dahiru, can do so.
The clerics were reportedly arrested on September 30, 2026, shortly after leaving the DSS office in Enugu, where they had gone to submit a petition to the Commissioner of Police, copied to the DSS Director. The Council said the DSS refused to receive the petition and directed them to the police. As they were leaving, a police team arrested them and took them to the SIB Section, Police Headquarters, Enugu. At the police headquarters, they were shown Sambo’s petition. The Council said that despite explaining that the dispute was a civil religious matter, police forced them to sign an undertaking that they and other Muslims would not attend Jumat service at Owerri Road Central Mosque until Sambo installs another Chief Imam.
In a petition to the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, by the Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network on behalf of the Council, President Olu Omotayo, Esq., described the ban as illegal and unconstitutional. “The police acted beyond their powers by banning some Muslim leaders from attending Jumat Service without a valid court order,” the petition dated October 1, 2026, stated. “The undertaking the police forced the Muslim leaders to write that they will not attend Jumat Service is illegal and unconstitutional”.
The Council argued that freedom of religion is a constitutionally guaranteed right, and demanded the immediate reversal of the ban by the Commissioner of Police starting from October 2, 2026. It said every citizen should be allowed to continue religious obligations “without let or hindrance from anybody or group of persons”.
The petition to the NSA emphasised that the matter is purely a civil and religious issue, not a criminal one, and called for urgent intervention to prevent a breakdown of law and order. “We condemn the arrest and detention of the citizens… We demand the immediate reversal by the Commissioner of Police of the Order banning these Muslim faithful from attending Jumat Service, starting from the 2nd day of October 2026,” the letter to the NSA stated.
The petition also attached a September 30 petition to the Commissioner of Police, copied to the DSS Director, in which the Council asked whether Alhaji Sambo, who is not a member of the Council, can on his own remove the Chief Imam, and whether he has the capacity to write a petition for the arrest of the Imam at the State CID for the purpose of removing him while in detention. The Council explained that police have no power to arrest an Imam without a criminal offence, that the removal is politically motivated, and that Imam Murtala Dahiru remains the rightful Chief Imam of Owerri Road Central Mosque. It called on Sambo and his supporters to withdraw the petition and warned against further attempts.
The development adds to a series of disputes involving the Enugu State Muslim community. In March 2026, the Enugu State Police Command released two prominent Islamic leaders, Alhaji Musa Ani, the 74-year-old Director of the Islamic Centre in Uwani, and Alhaji Suleiman Haruna Sule, following widespread outrage over their detention. The Council had earlier criticised what it described as a pattern of “Friday arrests,” alleging that such actions are often calculated to keep suspects in custody over the weekend without court intervention.
Sambo, who is recognised as the Sariki Hausawa of Enugu State, has previously been associated with peace-building efforts in the state. In March 2026, the Northern community in Enugu pledged support for Governor Mbah’s 2027 re-election bid during a courtesy visit by the Asiwaju Renewed Mandate South East, with Sambo described as having contributed significantly to peace in the state, especially during the herdsmen crisis. The current dispute, however, has placed him at the centre of a controversy that the Council of Ulamas and Imams insists is a politically motivated attempt to remove a duly appointed Chief Imam.
The petition to the NSA and IGP remains pending. The Council has demanded the immediate reversal of the ban starting from October 2, 2026, and has warned that the matter is a civil and religious issue, not a criminal one. For the Muslim faithful in Enugu State, the ban raises fundamental questions about freedom of religion and the extent to which a government appointee can use the police to interfere in the internal affairs of a religious community. The coming days will reveal whether the Commissioner of Police will reverse the ban or whether the Council will be forced to pursue legal action to protect its right to worship.
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