Man stabs cleric after Friday prayer in Sokoto

Tension gripped parts of Sokoto metropolis on Friday after an Islamic cleric, Malam Musa Lukwa, was stabbed shortly after leading the Juma’at prayer at his mosque in the Mabera area of the city. The attacker, reportedly a young man among the worshippers, allegedly stabbed the cleric twice in the neck before other worshippers overpowered and killed him. The incident was reportedly linked to a previous sermon delivered by the cleric, which some Islamic scholars and their followers considered offensive to the parents of Prophet Muhammad. The sermon had previously generated tension, with a man identified as Mai Barewa allegedly threatening the cleric and one of his senior students. Mai Barewa was subsequently arrested and arraigned before a court, with the case still ongoing.