Sokoto cleric’s followers kill man who stabbed him after Juma’at prayer

Tension gripped Sokoto metropolis on Friday after an Islamic cleric, Malam Musa Lukwa, was stabbed twice in the neck shortly after leading Juma’at prayers at his mosque in the Mabera area, according to Daily Trust. Worshippers overpowered and beat the suspected attacker, identified as Mai Barewa, to death at the scene.

The incident was reportedly linked to a sermon in which the cleric cited a Hadith some Tariqa-order scholars considered offensive, after which the suspect had allegedly threatened him and been arraigned in court. Police spokesman DSP Ahmad Rufa’i confirmed Lukwa was receiving treatment at the Specialist Hospital, Sokoto, and said no arrests had been made over the mob killing, adding that investigations were ongoing to establish the full circumstances.