Tuesday, March, 3 2026 -The Enugu State Police Command has arrested and detained the Director of the Islamic Centre, Uwani, Enugu, Alhaji Musa Ani, and the Sarikin Hausawa of Enugu, Alhaji Suleiman Haruna Sule, over an alleged N100m misappropriation.
Our correspondent gathered that the 74-year-old Ani was
picked up by police operatives on Friday at the Islamic Centre. Sule, who also
serves as Chairman of the United Inter-Community Traditional Council of Chiefs,
was reportedly detained the following day when he visited the State Criminal
Investigation Department to seek bail for Ani.
The arrests followed a petition written by Alhaji Ezeani
Ibrahim, a tenant of shops within the Islamic Centre premises. In the petition,
Ibrahim alleged that the centre’s director misappropriated funds amounting to
N100m.
However, members of the Muslim community in Enugu have
described the allegation as “trumped-up.” Ani reportedly told investigators
that the centre had never received such a large sum, explaining that the
institution depends solely on donations and offerings from worshippers.
Reacting to the development, the Civil Rights Realisation
and Advancement Network condemned the detention, describing it as an
embarrassment to the Muslim community.
In a petition dated March 1 and addressed to the National
Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the President of CRRAN, Olu Omotayo,
argued that the dispute was a civil matter arising from internal disagreements
within the mosque’s leadership.
“The detention is unlawful because if there is any issue of
misappropriation of money in the mosque, it is the Steering Committee that
should look into the matter. The mosque has never had such an amount of money
since its existence,” Omotayo stated.
The group further accused the Enugu State Commissioner of
Police of compromising professional standards by detaining Sule solely because
his name appeared in the petition, without giving him an opportunity to defend
himself.
CRRAN also criticised what it described as a pattern of
arrests on Fridays, alleging that such timing was intended to keep suspects in
custody over the weekend without immediate access to the courts.
“This is an internal disagreement within the Muslim Ummah
that led to these allegations. We demand the immediate release of these senior
citizens so they can reunite with their families and continue their religious
obligations during Ramadan,” the statement added.
The group alleged that plans were underway to arraign the
two leaders before a Magistrate Court to secure a remand order. It copied its
petition to the Inspector-General of Police and the Governor of Enugu State,
Peter Mbah, urging them to intervene.
Efforts to obtain the reaction of the Enugu State Police
Public Relations Officer, SP Daniel Ndukwe, were unsuccessful as calls and a
text message sent to him were not responded to as of the time of filing this
report.
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