Anti-Buhari Sermon: Sacked Abuja Imam Gets New Appointment

Former Chief Imam of the Apo Legislative Quarters Mosque, Sheikh Muhammad Khalid, has been appointed to lead another Juma’at mosque in Abuja.
This is coming barely 24 hours after the Imam was sacked by the Apo mosque steering committee over a sermon that criticised the government’s failure to stop insecurity in the country.
The Imam said he paid the “price for the voiceless” and would continue to identify with the masses.
“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,” he was quoted as saying.
The mosque committee of Apo legislative quarters, Abuja, had suspended Khalid over a sermon he delivered on Friday, April 1. He was later sacked on Monday, April 4, 2022.
Khalid, who is also the Founder of Islamic Research and Da’awah Foundation, in the sermon, criticised the government for its failure to stop insecurity in the country.
But the National Publicity Secretary of the opposition PDP, Debo Ologunagba, described the suspension as uncalled for and repressive.
He said it was obvious that Nigeria had returned to the days of Decree 4 when it was a crime to make any public speech criticising or embarrassing the government.
“This is reminiscent of Buhari’s Decree 4 which states that even when you publish the truth, it remains a crime if it embarrasses a public official. That is how journalists were also arrested in 1984.
“This is an assault on the freedom of speech which is a constitutionally guaranteed right. We will respond more comprehensively on Monday. But this is nothing but fascism and we caution the government to stop this,” he said.