Muslim Cleric Arrested for Killing Landlord who Corrected him

An Islamic cleric, Alfa Ganiyu Umaru, has been arrested by the police in Lagos state  for allegedly killing his 45-year-old landlord, Tajudeen Popoola. The two of them had been a having disagreements  for some time over Umaru’s alleged immoral behaviour.


Punch reports, Popoola had constantly criticized the cleric for drinking and performing rituals on the ground that such acts contravened Islamic doctrines. The criticism usually resulted in exchange of words between both, until the last straw that broke the camel’s back.

 The incident happened in a one-storey building in Agbotikuyo bus stop, Ipaja, area of the state at about 8pm on Sunday. Popoola, a widower, was said to have returned from a football viewing centre and reportedly met Umaru and his friends drinking alcohol in front of the building, when he rebuked the suspect and this led to an altercation, after which they both retired to their respective apartments.

Speaking on the incident, the deceased’s brother, Azeez, said Umaru came to Tajudeen’s apartment a few minutes later and attacked him with a shard of broken glass. He said,

 “Alfa usually quarreled with my brother because he used to correct his excesses. Any time they had a disagreement, he would threaten to kill my brother. On Sunday, he made good his threat.

“Everywhere was dark that evening. He sneaked into the passage where my brother was resting on a bench. Alfa didn’t know I was resting at a corner in the passage. I suddenly heard my brother scream and before I knew what was happening, blood was gushing out from his neck while Alfa fled.

“I went after him and with the help of neighbours, he was apprehended and the shard was recovered from him. We rushed my brother to the Ile Epo General Hospital; but before we got there, he had lost a lot of blood. He died a few minutes later.

Alfa stabbed him in three different places in the neck. The suspect, who hails from Ilorin, Kwara State, has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, SCIID, Yaba and is currently cooling off in police custody.