Mr Bello, very popular in south-west Nigeria, reportedly died in the early hours of Friday.

A popular Islamic cleric, Muyideen Bello, is dead.

Mr Bello, influential among Muslims from south-west Nigeria, reportedly died in the early hours of Friday. Details of his death were not available at the time of this report.

His death was, however, confirmed by many of his close followers and other Islamic clerics on their social media pages.

"People who knew how close I recently became to Alh Muhydeen Bello have just woken me up with calls. When I visited baba last, he saw me off and stood talking to me outside for more than 30 minutes. I was wondering how someone over 80 could stand that long when I was tired at my age and I didn't know how to tell him," educationist Saheed Oladele wrote on Facebook.

"Today is one of my saddest days! My father and mentor has returned to his Creator. SULTONUL WAHIZEEN of Yorubaland Sheikh Muyideen AJANI BELLO, may Allah be pleased with your soul. Aljannah fridaos for you. Our heart is full of grief and our eyes full of tears but we will say nothing but what will please our Creator, the sole commander of life and death - ALLAH," Islamic cleric Taofeeq Akeugbagold wrote on Facebook on Friday morning.

The Ibadan-based cleric was born in 1940 and was one of the spiritual leaders of the Ansarudeen Society of Nigeria.