Coronavirus: Ali-Agan holds Jumm’at service in Ilorin, despite ban on gatherings

…says “nobody” can order closure of mosques

A popular Islamic cleric, Abubakr Imam Ali-Agan held the weekly friday congregation prayers, THE INFORMANT247 reports.

This is happening despite the orders of the Kwara State Government restricting the number of persons in any gathering to 10 and ban on congregation religious service as part of partial lockdown to curb the community transmission of the novel coronavirus.

According to statistics from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, as of Saturday, 28th March, there are 89 cases of the virus in Nigeria.

THE INFORMANT247 reports that the emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari had suspended the holding of weekly Friday prayers in mosques in Ilorin.

However, Ali-Agan, whose Jumm’at mosque is located in his Oloje estate’s secondary school in Ilorin held a ‘physical’ service on Friday.

One of our correspondents, who monitored the service observed that worshipers gathered in the mosque for the weekly prayer.

Ali-Agan led the congregation in prayers preceding his sermon by saying that nobody can order the shut down of mosque.

He applaud the congregation for having faith by believing that the COVID-19 cannot spread in mosques and coming out en-mass to pray, saying “people die everyday either by coronavirus or other ways”.

Recall that the Islamic scholar, who is a staunch loyalist of the state governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, was recently invited to a stakeholders meeting conveyed by the deputy governor on how to tackle the spread of COVID-19.

However when contacted by our correspondent, after exchanging pleasantries and introducing himself as a journalist, Ali-Agan dropped the call and refused to pick several subsequent attempt on his line.