Fintiri Storms Bauchi, Urges Bala To End Case Against Cleric

• Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa State led a delegation of high-ranking clerics to Bauchi to seek clemency for a cleric on trial for alleged public disturbance
• Governor Bala Muhammad of Bauchi promised to look into the proposal, stating that religion is a sensitive issue with multifaceted implications

The governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, led a delegation of high-ranking clerics from the Izala Islamic group to Bauchi to seek clemency for a cleric on trial for alleged public disturbance.

Fintiri, along with Izala’s chairman, Sheikh Abdullahi Bala Lau, secretary, Sheikh Kabiru Gombe, and a Kano-based scholar, Sheikh Abdulwahhab, met with Bauchi state governor, Bala Muhammad, in an attempt to persuade him to drop charges brought by the government against a preacher, Dr Idris Abdulaziz.

Humwashi Wonosikou, Fintiri’s Chief Press Secretary, confirmed the meeting to our correspondent, saying the governor met with his Bauchi counterpart to settle the matter between the Bauchi government and Abdulaziz.

Abdulaziz had been imprisoned for over thirty days after a Shari’a Court judge hearing the case ordered his remand.

Many scholars considered the cleric’s remarks about Prophet Muhammad to be blasphemous, causing outrage in Muslim communities in the North.
He, on the other hand, denied any wrongdoing.

A preacher who supported the cleric, Baffa Hotoro, was arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) in Kano for repeating his (Idris’) words, while a mob in Sokoto recently murdered a man for allegedly making similar remarks.

The cleric frequently blamed the Bauchi governor in his sermons, insisting that the case was political.

He accused the governor of witch-hunting him because he backed an opposition candidate in the previous election.

During a meeting with the heads of the state’s security agencies, Fintiri stated that he was in Bauchi to find a long-term solution to the long-running case.

Governor Bala responded by promising to look into the proposal, stating that religion is a sensitive issue with multifaceted implications.
He expressed gratitude to the delegation for their concern and for giving him the benefit of the doubt.