Court Examines Legality Of Dual Chief Imam Appointments That Sparked Inisha Muslim Community Crisis

Osun State High Court sitting in Iragbiji, the headquarters of Boripe Local Government Area of Osun State, on Tuesday resumed hearing on the case of the appointment of the Chief Imam of Inisha in Odo-Otin Local Government Area of the state, which has been pending since 2021.

The appointment of the Chief Imam, which led to a full-blown crisis in the town, resulted in a state of lawlessness as decorum was disregarded by some residents who took the law into their own hands.

Trouble started after the appointment, as Muslims in the community had a sharp disagreement over the development, leading to division among them.

While a cross-section of them agreed with the appointment of Abdulazeez Tijani, others rejected him and opted for Alhaji Abdulakeem Mahamadujamiu as their Chief Imam.

As a result, the town was without a Chief Imam for years until the state Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, and the League of Imams and Alfas in the state intervened in the crisis.

However, at the hearing of the case before Justice G.O. Lawal, counsel to the plaintiff, Mr. Jimoh Adebimpe Abdulmumini, told the court that two Chief Imams were turbaned in Inisha on the same day, a situation that led to serious fracas in the town.

Also, one of the witnesses, Jimoh Ibrahim, in a cross-examination, told the court that one Chief Imam was turbaned in the morning, while another was turbaned in the evening at the same Central Mosque in Inisha.

According to him, a crisis erupted at the mosque as a result of the turbaning of the two Imams.

The presiding judge, Justice Lawal, has, however, fixed further hearing on the case for the 7th of May, 2025.