Cleric killed while calling Muslims to prayer – Police

An elderly man, identified as Ladan Zubairu, was killed at Yusuf Garko Mosque in the Maraba Quarters area of Kano on Monday morning.

It was gathered that the suspect behind the killing was immediately pursued by an angry mob and lynched, while his residence was set ablaze, causing panic in the area before security personnel restored order.

Speaking with journalists, the deceased’s son, Isa Kasim, said his father had gone out at dawn to call Muslims to prayer.

He explained that after making the first call, his father usually sat briefly to recite supplications before the second call.

“He had just finished the first call and was seated when someone entered the mosque with a weapon, grabbed him and slaughtered him. In short, his throat was slit,” Kasim said.

He added that following the attack, some youths in the area mobilised and killed the assailant.

“By the will of God, the attacker did not escape. Members of the community gathered, tracked him down and killed him,” he said.

Kasim also revealed that after the assailant was killed, residents discovered the cleric’s severed throat wrapped in a nylon bag inside the suspect’s pocket.

Confirming the incident in a statement on Monday, the Kano State Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, said officers quickly intervened to restore calm and prevent further escalation.

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“Our officers quickly intervened to restore calm and prevent further escalation. Normalcy has now returned to Maraba Quarters,” Kiyawa said.

The police recovered both bodies and transported them to the Mohammed Abdullahi Wase Teaching Hospital for autopsy.

The state Commissioner of Police, CP Ibrahim Adamu Bakori, has ordered a thorough investigation into the incident.

“We are committed to ensuring that anyone found culpable will face the full force of the law,” Kiyawa added.

Authorities have appealed to residents to remain calm and provide any information that may assist the ongoing investigation.

This is not the first time a cleric has died under such circumstances in the state. In September, the family of an Islamic cleric in Kano State protested his death in police custody, alleging that he was tortured.

The cleric, Salim Usman, an imam from the Kuntau community in the Gwale Local Government Area of the Kano metropolis, reportedly died while in the custody of the State Criminal Investigation Department