Why Ikare Akoko Central Mosque will remain closed – Ondo govt

The Ondo State Government says the Central Mosque in Ikare Akoko will remain locked until the crisis in the ancient town is resolved.

The government said this amidst calls on it to end a curfew in the town and reopen the mosque for the Islamic month of Ramadan.

The state government shut the mosque in October following violent clashes resulting from a dispute over the leadership of the mosque.

Trouble started when the Ikare Muslim Council, backed by the king of the town, the Olukare of Ikare, Saliu Momoh IV, sacked the Chief Imam, Abubakar Muhammed.

However, the League of Imams and the Ondo State Council for Islamic Affairs rejected the removal of the cleric. This led to a standoff between the parties.

Mr Muhammed’s sack letter was issued on the 10th of October and signed by Ikare Muslims Council’s chairman, Adewale Abayomi, and the Secretary, R. Aiyegbusi.

The Muslim community in the town turned down all appeals from different quarters, as it insisted on removing the Chief Imam.

There were also disturbances in the town within the same period, forcing the government to impose a curfew in the town.

But in a statement on Thursday, the government said it was lifting the curfew but the mosque would remain closed.

READ ALSO: Akeredolu approves Deji of Akure as chairman, Ondo State Council Of Obas

“The position of the Ondo State Government is that the closure of the Ikare Central Mosque subsists, unless the warring parties bury their differences, and subject to the leadership of the Chief Imam,” the state Information Commissioner, Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, said in the statement.

“Otherwise, the Central Mosque remains closed,” he stated.