Sokoto Mosque attack: Cleric’s followers reject probe panel, allege bias

Followers of Islamic cleric, Sheikh Musa Lukuwa, have rejected the 14-member committee established by the Sokoto State Government to investigate the attack on Lukuwa's mosque. They claim some members of the panel disagreed with Lukuwa over religious issues and could be biased. Lukuwa was attacked after delivering Friday prayers at his Mabera mosque.

The state government subsequently closed the mosque and appointed the committee, chaired by Malam Yahya Na Malam Boyi, to examine religious issues and advise the government. The committee includes various Islamic scholars and representatives of different religious orders. However, Lukuwa's spokesman, Sheikh Murtala Assada, stated that his followers were unhappy with the committee's composition due to past conflicts.

Assada suggested that the matter should be resolved through scholarly examination rather than confrontation. He questioned the closure of Lukuwa's mosque, arguing that it didn't warrant such action. Assada urged authorities to resolve religious disagreements through dialogue and scholarship, emphasizing that issues concerning creed cannot be resolved through force.

The cleric's spokesman called for a peaceful resolution to the dispute, ready to sit down with any scholar who rejects the Hadith in question. The Special Adviser to Governor Ahmed Aliyu on Security, Col. Ahmed Usman (rtd.), expressed confidence in the committee's ability to conduct a fair and impartial investigation, but deferred to the committee's findings.