Jum’ah prayers are set to resume at the Ado-Awaye Central Mosque, Oyo State this Friday, May 30, 2025, after a prolonged hiatus caused by leadership disputes and security concerns.
This follows a court ruling affirming the fundamental right to freedom of worship and the mosque leadership’s announcement of the prayer’s recommencement.
In a press statement issued on Thursday, the mosque’s leadership recounted the chain of events that led to the disruption.
“The immediate past Chief Imam of Ado-Awaye, Shaykh Solahudeen Oniyo, passed away on the Mimbar during the course of Solatul Jum’ah on Friday, August 13, 2021,” the statement read.
It added that the ensuing race for succession “threatened security” and led to the stoppage of prayers in September 2021.
While activities briefly resumed in February 2022 with the installation of Shaykh Ibrahim Kolade as Chief Imam, the mosque was plagued by further attacks on worshippers.
Legal action was initiated to resolve the impasse.
Similarly in a letter dated May 29, 2025, addressed to the Chairman of Iseyin Local Government, the mosque’s legal counsel, Abdul-Waheed Olowonjaye, reiterated the gravity of the ruling.
“We have the firm instruction of our clients to notify Your Excellency that Jum’ah (Friday) prayers, regular daily prayers, and all other services shall resume from tomorrow, Friday, May 30, 2025,” the letter read.
The court judgment, delivered by Justice E. O. Ajayi on May 20, 2025, emphasised the constitutional right to freedom of religion.
Referring to precedents like Lagos State vs. Abdulkareem (2022), the ruling stated, “The right to freedom of thought, conscience, or religion implies a right not to be prevented without lawful justification from choosing the course of one’s life.”
Justice Ajayi, in the May 20 ruling, declared the applicant entitled to practise Islam at the Ado-Awaye Central Mosque, where he is a bona fide member.
Also, the mosque’s leadership, in its press statement, urged members to remain law-abiding and move past the turbulence.
“We implore all the disciples of the Chief Imam and the respected leaders and members of Ado-Awaye Central Mosque not to allow the ugly past to preoccupy them,” the statement concluded.
PUNCH Online reports that the letter addressed to the Chairman of Iseyin Local Government also copied and acknowledged several key figures and stakeholders, including the Governor of Oyo State; members of the state cabinet; the state Ministry of Justice; the Oyo State House of Assembly; the Iseyin Divisional Police Headquarters; and the Oyo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun).
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