Niger clarifies report on slapping of Islamic cleric

The Niger State Government has clarified a viral video of the state governor, Mohammed Bago, seen ordering security personnel to slap a man during the Fidua prayer for the late wife of the deputy governor, Zainab Yakubu.

The video which went viral on Saturday captured Bago speaking in Hausa and ordering a security operative to slap the man and arrest him.

The Special Adviser to the governor on Print Media, Aisha Wakaso in a statement on Tuesday said the cleric was only an impostor who attempted to play the role of an Imam.

Wakaso stated that the man had since apologised to the governor and forum of Imams for his misconduct, saying that he was neither slapped nor arrested by the security operatives.

“The attention of the Niger State Government has been drawn to an editorial in the Daily Trust Newspaper of 15th July 2024, titled “Bago: Let Temperance Reign”. This editorial and many other reports did not only misrepresent the incident that took place during the three-day Fidau Prayers for the late wife of the Deputy Governor, Hajiya Zainab Garba, wherein the Governor ordered security agents to remove an individual who attempted to take over the spiritual duties of the Imams gathered at the Deputy Governor’s residence, it also came up with some fictitious claims.

“While the state government preferred not to engage in the controversy currently celebrated on social media and other platforms, especially when the state was in a mourning period due to the demise of the deputy governor’s wife, it has become necessary to set the record straight and correct the misconceptions about the Governor’s actions.

“The governor considers the three days Fidau Prayers as a very sensitive and important event that should be presided over by an Imam or any renowned Islamic Scholar, not by an unqualified individual. The governor’s decision to ask the individual to leave the venue of the prayer is based on maintaining the sanctity and solemnity of the occasion.

“He found the act of the person not just as disrespectful to the dead and the reason for the gathering but also as insensitive which led to him requesting that he be taken out by the security agents. The continued attacks on the Governor’s character by some. media outlets over this issue are unfortunate and uncalled for, especially since the Governor’s actions were meant to curb the excesses of unruly individuals and prevent the Fidau prayer from being reduced to a mere spectacle or a child’s play,” Wakaso stated.

The Special Adviser, who disclosed that the fake cleric had been a fan of the governor whom the governor had tried to empower several times, merely showed his overzealousness to get noticed by the governor.

“The individual involved not only denied being slapped by the security agents who ordered him out of the deputy governor’s residence in a video but has publicly apologized to the Imams and the governor, acknowledging his overzealousness and inappropriate actions. He has shown remorse and requested forgiveness from both the governor and the forum of Imams.

“The Governor’s actions were driven by respect for the deceased, the purpose of the gathering, and the need to preserve the sanctity of the Fidua Prayer,” she added.