The police have suspended their wanted person declaration and the government dropped charges against the cleric
Popular Bauchi-based Islamic cleric, Idris Abdulaziz, who fled into exile amid a protracted political feud with Governor Bala Muhammad, has returned home after the intervention of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu.
PREMIUM TIMES reported how Mr Abdulaziz fled after security agents raided his Dutsen Tanshi residence in the Bauchi metropolis on 24 January to execute a search warrant.
Mr Abdulaziz had been having a running battle with Governor Muhammad whom he openly campaigned against. He supported Mr Muhammad's main opponent, Abubakar Sadiq of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the 18 March 2023 election.
He left Bauchi State to flee alleged persecution, threat of arbitrary arrest and detention by the state government following charges accusing him of blasphemy against religious creed.
"To the execution of the said search warrant, over 250 police, civil defence and military personnel were mobilised and they stormed the house of our client in the early hours of Thursday 25th January 2024," his lawyer, Ahmad Musa, told PREMIUM TIMES in January.
Mr Abdulaziz was subsequently declared wanted on 8 February with bounties placed on him by the police for contempt of court.
But on Tuesday Mr Abdulaziz's lawyer confirmed his homecoming to PREMIUM TIMES.
The police spokesperson in the state, Ahmed Wakil, also on Tuesday said Mr Ribadu intervened and settled the feud between the cleric and the governor. He said the declaration of Mr Abdulaziz wanted by the police has been suspended.
"Such action (of wanted declaration) is hereby suspended. However, today on 8th April 2024, Commissioner of Police Bauchi State Command, Auwal Musa Mohammad, PSC, in his effort and dedication to promoting peaceful coexistence and harmonious relations among the figures in the state, spearheaded a peace pact between Malam Idris Abdulaziz and the Government of Bauchi State at the Police State headquarters.
"The peace pact was signed and witnessed by the Director, of the Department of State Security Services (DSS), the Commandant Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and the Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Bauchi State," the police spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, security agents in the state blamed the crisis on a communication gap which they said will be corrected.
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"The Commissioner of Police as the Chairman of the Security and Allied Agency in Bauchi state, resolved to ensure that the communication gap that was identified as the causative agent among others responsible for deteriorating the relationship between the parties would be addressed without hesitation.
"He expressed his unequivocal appreciation to the Executive Governor of Bauchi State Sen. Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir, CON, KAURAN BAUCHI, for honouring the call of NSA (Mr Ribadu) and other relevant stakeholders to the peace accord and maintaining that the written commitment that was signed would be judiciously observed by the parties concerned", the police spokesperson said.
The police also cautioned Mr Abdulaziz, saying while he enjoys the right to freedom of speech, he should not use his pulpit to insult or make derogatory and abusive statements against colleagues who hold different opinions.
A Sunni, his preaching and opinions are considered stern by followers of some Islamic sects in Hausa-speaking northern Nigeria. His ordeals began last April when he criticised some Sufi scholars of the Tijjaniyya Islamic sects during one of his lectures.
"In difficult times I don't need the support of Ibrahim Niase, Abdulkadir Jelani, Ahmad Tijjani (Sufi scholars), and even Prophet Muhammad except for Allah," Mr Abdulaziz said in the lecture on the oneness of God.
The comments ignited a controversy in Bauchi State and beyond. While his brethren in the Sunni sect supported him, some of his rivals from the Sufi sect called for his prosecution, accusing him of disrespecting a religious creed. The state government subsequently took over the case and prosecuted him.
