The killing of the Chief Imam of a mosque in Mada town, Zamfara state, has caused a lot of arguments.
According to someone who knows the Imam’s family but didn’t want to be named, the Imam was arrested on Sunday by five people from the Community Protection Guards (CPG) who came to the village on motorcycles.
The source said the guards told the Imam to get on one of the motorcycles, took him a short distance away from Mada town, and then killed him.
The source said, “The Imam was sitting outside his house after the 4pm prayers when the five guards arrived. They took him away and killed him.” The Imam was killed like an animal, which shocked everyone in the town.
People couldn’t understand why someone like the Imam, who was known for being peaceful, would be murdered in such a brutal way.
Another person, Muhammad Yunus, thinks the Imam’s murder was politically motivated. He said, “I think his murder might be because he helped two young men who were arrested by the vigilante group last year. Some members of the vigilante group were not happy with him for doing that. They accused him of helping bandits and that’s why they killed him.”
The state commander of the Community Protection Guards, Col. Rabi’u Yandoto, confirmed the incident and said two of his guards had been arrested in connection with the Imam’s murder.
He said, “We didn’t order the arrest of the Imam. He wasn’t on our list of wanted people. I was really sad when I heard about what happened. We will investigate this properly and make sure those responsible are punished.”
He also mentioned a similar incident in Zurmi town where some people wearing CPG uniforms attacked a village.
He said the two guards accused of killing the Imam are now in custody and they will be questioned before being handed over to the police for further investigation and possible prosecution.
