Sacked Abuja Imam gets new appointment 24 hours after he was fired

Barely 24 hours after Sheikh Muhammad Nuru Khalid was sacked as the Chief Imam of the Apo Legislative Quarters Mosque, he’s been appointed to lead another Juma’at mosque in Abuja.

Sheikh Khalid was sacked by the Apo mosque steering committee following the Juma’at sermon he delivered on Friday, April 1, 2022.

The mosque committee considered the sermon to be anti-government.

The cleric during the sermon had criticised President Muhammadu Buhari-led government, lawmakers, parents, and religious leaders over the rising insecurity in the country.

Sheikh Khalid had pointed out the government’s failure to stop the growing spate of killings and kidnappings in the country.

Following his sack, he said he had paid the “price for the voiceless” and would continue to identify with the masses.

He added that he would now lead a mosque behind the CBN Quarters, in Abuja.

The cleric said: “My sack is a reflection of how Nigeria is today. Many people are hiding under the cover of religion to perpetrate all manners of unwholesome acts.

“Such people would stop at nothing to take away people like me, who are pro-masses and bold enough to speak the truth to power always on behalf of voiceless Nigerians.

“This is the price we pay for aligning with the people and identifying with their sufferings.

“By the Grace of Almighty Allah, I will be leading my new congregation this Friday, because as clerics we need a platform for operating.

“There’s a Jum’mat mosque we built behind the CBN Quarters, in Abuja; I will now be leading the congregation there.”

Sheikh Khalid is the Founder of Islamic Research and Da’awah Foundation in Abuja.