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Chief Imam drags Soun of Ogbomoso, Council to court over alleged plan to sack him

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The Chief Imam of Ogbomoso, Taliat Yunus Olusina Ayilara has dragged the Soun of Ogbomoso land, Oba Afolabi Ghandi Olaoye and the Soun In- Council to court over plans to remove him from the office.

The suit marked HOG/7/2024 is to be decided at the Oyo State High Court, Ogbomoso Division.

The Chief Imam was installed in November 2021 during the reign of the immediate past Soun of Ogbomoso land, Oba Jimoh Oyewumi while the new Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Afolabi Ghandi Olaoye was installed by the kingmakers led by the Are Ago of Ogbomoso, High Chief Sobalaje Otolorin in September 2023.

The Imam had claimed that the defendants threatened to remove him as the Grand Chief Imam of Ogbomoso.

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Ayilara, who is the 13th Chief Imam of Ogbomoso land in the affidavit in support of the motion on notice sworn to at the High Court Registry, Ogbomoso, on February 12, said he was appointed by the Surah committee of the Muslim Community in Ogbomoso land.

In the documents obtained by DAILY POST on Saturday, Ayilara insisted that the defendants were appointed to rule under the laws and customs of Ogbomoso to the traditional titles they hold and have no power to remove him from office.

He added that the Central Mosque in Ogbomoso land and other mosques and the administration of the mosques is the responsibility of the Muslim community, headed by the Chief Imam.

The Chief Imam maintained that the appointment of Imams anywhere in the world is regulated by Islamic rules, adding that the right to appoint a Grand Chief Imam of Ogbomoso land is the prerogative of Muslims in the Ogbomoso community and the appointment is done in accordance with Islamic rules.

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He said the Grand Chief Imam of Ogbomoso land is not a chieftaincy or traditional title and as such, is not subject to the control or supervision of the traditional council.

He then urged the court to stop the defendants from removing him from the office.

Ayilara said, “I say that the central mosque in Ogbomoso land and other mosques and the administration of the mosques is bestowed on the Muslim community headed by Imam, Chief Imam or Grand Chief Imam which I am one. I know that the appointment of an Imam anywhere in the world is regulated by Islamic rules and tenets as it is not a chieftaincy or hereditary title.

“I also say that the right to appoint Grand Chief Imam of Ogbomoso land is the prerogative of Muslims in the Ogbomoso community and the appointment is done under Islamic rules. I know that based on settled Islamic rules, the Imam is appointed by the entire Muslim members of the community through a committee called the Surah Committee.

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The Surah Committee is a screening committee constituted by Muslim elders/leaders in the Muslim community to make decisions on Muslim affairs which include the appointment of Imams.

“Following the demise of the immediate past Grand Imam of Ogbomoso land, Sheikh Al Aman Yekeen Adegboyega Asafa, sometime in October 2021, the need to appoint a new Grand Chief Imam for Ogbomoso land arose and I was considered suitable for the position of Chief Grand Imam of Ogbomoso land after a screening exercise conducted by Surah Committee led by Alhaji Alimi Surajudeen, the Parakoyi Adini of Ogbomoso land.

“I was appointed the Grand Chief Imam of Ogbomoso land in November 2021 and since then, I have been discharging my responsibilities as Grand Chief Imam under Islamic rules and tenets. However, the defendants, particularly the 1″ Defendant who is a Christian, sometime in January 2024, a few months after his installation as the new paramount ruler of Ogbomoso land, threatened to remove me as the Grand Chief Imam of Ogbomoso land.

“That the threat of my removal became more pronounced when 1 approached the Honourable Court to restrain the Inspector General of Police and the Commissioner of Police in Oyo State from removing or suspending me as the Grand Chief Imam of Ogbomoso land and an interim order was granted to that effect”.

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Metro

Kogi monarch narrates how he jumped over his fence when Hoodlums raided his palace

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The Etsu Lokoja, HRH Emmanuel Akamisoko Dauda-Shelika, Nyamkpa IV on Monday narrated how he jumped the fence to save his life when some suspected hoodlums attacked his palace and burnt his vehicle and property within the premises.

The palace which was located on plot 306, New Layout, Lokoja, was attacked by hoodlums at about 1:00am on Saturday, while the monarch narrowly escaped by scaling the fence.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the Nupe natives of Lokoja Development Union were planning to host the second edition of their end-of-the-year event, tagged: “Lokoja ‘24 Nupe Cultural Fiesta”, on Saturday, before the incident occurred.

The event was however aborted due to the unfortunate attack around 1:00 am, when many Nupe natives from neighbouring states had started arriving on the eve of the event.

Narrating his ordeal to our correspondent who visited the scene on Monday, the Etsu Lokoja, said: “It was around 1 am at night that I heard a big bang on my door and I woke up to check through the window, wondering what could have happened.

“Then, I suddenly saw wildfire coming out of my car as it had been set ablaze by attackers.

“I knew it was an attack on the palace, and could not come out because of fear of being attacked. So, I managed to come out through the back door and scaled the fence to save my life.

“Thereafter, I came out to the road and realised that all my neighbours in the community were on the ground trying hard to quench the fire. Unfortunately, the car was burnt as well as other property inside it.”

He explained that members of the planning committee for the event had a meeting till around 11:30 pm on Friday before departing to their various homes, lamenting that it was unfortunate that the cultural fiesta was aborted due to the ugly incident.

Dauda-Shelika appealed to the government and security agencies to investigate the cause of the attack and bring perpetrators and their sponsors to justice.

He, however, appealed to the Nupe natives in Lokoja to avoid any form of reprisal and continue to remain peaceful, law-abiding and allow government and security agencies to conduct a thorough investigation on the attack.

“We are appealing to His Excellency, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo, and security agencies to please use their good offices to investigate this unfortunate incident, and bring to justice whoever is concerned whether directly or indirectly.

“We also want government to kindly visit our issues by recognizing and grading the stool of Etsu Lokoja which had been in existence before colonisation.

“By officially recognising and grading Etsu Lokoja stool, we know everything will be laid to rest because that is the power of the government.”

When our correspondent visited the palace on Monday, a police officer on the ground declined to make comments as he claimed not to have not been authorised to speak on the matter.

Efforts to get the state police command to speak proved abortive as the Public Relations Officer, SP William Aya, did not take repeated calls to his mobile number. He also did not respond to a text message sent to him.

Spirited efforts to get the Security Adviser to the state governor to speak on the development failed as he did not take repeated calls to his mobile phone number. He did not respond to a text message sent to him as of the time of filling this report.

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Two Die, Four injured In Edo Road Accident

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Two persons were yesterday confirmed dead in an accident that happened in the Ikhinero community on the Benin-Agbor road in Edo State.

It was gathered that four other passengers in the affected vehicles also sustained various degrees of injuries

The Edo State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC), Cyril Mathew, who confirmed the report said three vehicles were involved in the accident.

The Sector Commander who attributed the accident to overspeeding, cautioned motorists against excessive speed.

“The accident happened around 6:10 pm along the Benin-Agbor road by Guinness deport due to overspeed”.

He said six persons including two adult males and four adult females were involved in the accident, adding that two were killed while four others were injured.

He said the injured were rushed to the hospital for treatment, while the deceased were deposited at the morgue.

He however , charged motorists to obey traffic rules and regulations, avoid night journeys and being drunk, while driving and as well fasten their seat belt to reach their destinations safely during the yuletide.

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Appeal Court Affirms 12-Year Jail Term for Businessman Over $1.4 Million Fraud

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The Court of Appeal in Lagos has upheld the conviction and 12-year prison sentence of Kolawole Adedayo Erinle, a businessman found guilty of defrauding a foreign company of $1.4 million.

The judgment, delivered on Thursday, 19 December 2024, by a three-man panel of the Court of Appeal, affirmed the sentencing of Erinle, alongside his company, Rinde-Remdex Nigeria Limited, on charges of conspiracy, retention of proceeds of criminal conduct, and obtaining money under false pretence.

Erinle had been initially arraigned before Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja on 11 March 2022.

However, following Justice Taiwo’s retirement, the case was reassigned to Justice Oshodi.

On 28 October 2022, Erinle was re-arraigned on the three-count charge, which included the false representation of himself and his accomplice, Edward Dada (still at large), as agents of J.E. Dunn, a construction company based in the United States.

They created a fraudulent domain name, jedunn.org, to deceive their victims into transferring $1,410,000.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had accused Erinle of perpetrating the crime in 2019 in Lagos, with the intent to exploit the fraudulent representation for monetary gain.

During the trial, Erinle admitted to being a convicted fraudster in the United States, where he served 23 months in prison for similar offences.

Although he initially denied the charges, he later expressed remorse, stating, “I am sorry.”

Justice Oshodi, after considering the facts of the case, convicted Erinle on 26 September 2023, sentencing him to 12 years in prison for obtaining money under false pretence.

The sentence was ordered to run concurrently, beginning from 10 February 2023. Erinle’s company was also fined N50 million and ordered to be wound up, with all proceeds forfeited to the Federal Government.

Erinle sought to appeal the conviction, but the EFCC’s counsel, T.J. Banjo, argued that the appeal lacked merit and urged the appellate court to dismiss it.

In the lead judgment, Justice Danlami Zama Senchi upheld the lower court’s ruling, stating that the prosecution had successfully proven its case beyond reasonable doubt.

Erinle’s appeal was dismissed, cementing the conviction and serving as a stern reminder of the consequences of financial fraud.

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