Brave Dickson
Muslims have refused to observe the daily night Isha and Tarawih prayers of Ramadan at the Oyigbo Central Mosque in Rivers State for fear of being attacked by the Indegeneous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The Chief Imam of the scanty central mosque, Alhaji Abubakar Akewusola told our correspondent that worshippers were yet to forget the attack on the mosque at late night by suspected IPOB members that killed two Muslims.
The Chief Imam said, “the only prayer our Muslims brethren observe in this mosque is the Friday Jumat because such prayer is carried out in the afternoon.
“Since we started the Ramadan of this month, our mosque has been emptied during the night Isha and Tarawih prayers.
“Our people are afraid of being attacked by IPOB. So, our Muslims brethren prefer to observe the night Ramadan prayers in town were they feel safe.
“The truth is that this central mosque is located in a vulnerable environment in Oyigbo and has been attacked severally by hoodlums suspected to be IPOB.
“Nobody wants to be in the mosque praying with fear of being killed. We need the security agencies to beef up security around this central mosque before our Muslims brethren can observe their night Ramadan prayers here.
“The killing of the two Muslims brethren was so horrifying because they were hacked to death with machetes by the hoodlums who invaded the mosque with sporadic gun shots.”
The cleric also said that even some parts of the mosque that were destroyed by suspected IPOB members during the #EndSARS protest were yet to be renovated as Muslims are no longer interested in worshipping at the mosque.
