Cleric, Enugu Sarikin Hausawa Arrested Over Alleged ₦100m Fraud
The Enugu State Police Command has arrested a 74-year-old Islamic scholar and the Sarikin Hausawa of Enugu over an alleged ₦100 million fraud linked to the management of funds at a prominent Islamic centre in the state.
The cleric, Alhaji Musa Ani, who serves as Director of the Islamic Centre, Uwani, was reportedly taken into custody last Friday following a petition accusing him of misappropriating funds generated from shop rentals and other levies within the mosque’s premises.
Sources familiar with the matter said the petition was filed by a tenant operating shops within the Islamic Centre complex.
The petitioner allegedly claimed that funds amounting to ₦100 million, believed to have been generated through commercial activities around the mosque, were diverted by members of the mosque’s leadership.
Police operatives were said to have arrested Ani at the Islamic Centre premises before transferring him to the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for questioning and further investigation.
In a related development, Alhaji Suleiman Haruna Sule, the Sarikin Hausawa of Enugu and Chairman of the United Inter-Community Traditional Council of Chiefs, was also arrested.
According to sources, Sule was detained a day after Ani’s arrest when he reportedly visited the CID office in an attempt to secure bail for the cleric. Community members described Sule’s detention as surprising, noting that he had voluntarily presented himself at the police facility to intervene and understand the nature of the allegations.
The arrests have since generated reactions within the Muslim community in Enugu, with several leaders expressing concern over what they described as the criminalisation of an internal administrative dispute.
Some stakeholders argue that disagreements over the management of mosque funds and property should ordinarily be resolved through internal mechanisms or civil processes rather than through criminal proceedings.
The Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network (CRRAN), a civil society organisation, condemned the arrests, describing them as unlawful and humiliating given the age and standing of the individuals involved. The group questioned the detention of Sule, alleging that he was arrested merely because his name appeared in the petition.
CRRAN also criticised the timing of the arrests, pointing out that detentions carried out toward the weekend could limit access to bail and legal remedies, thereby prolonging custody.
As of the time of filing this report, the police had yet to issue a detailed public statement outlining the specific offences under investigation or confirming whether formal charges have been filed in court.
