Chief Imam of Borno dies at 90

The chief imam of Borno, Imam Ibrahim Ahmed, died Wednesday in an Egyptian hospital after a protracted illness, the family said yesterday.

He will be buried today at 9:00am at his Limanti residence in Maiduguri. He is survived by three wives, many children, grand children and great grand children. The family said in a statement signed by Alhaji Zanna Laisu Imam that the late Imam who was born in 1924 in Yelwa (present day Maiduguri) started his career as acting chief imam of Borno from 1951 to 1956 before being appointed the substantive imam after the death of his father.

He attended many courses on the application of Sharia law at the Amadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria in the 1960s. Imam Ibrahim became a court scribe in 1942 and was posted to Giedam in present day Yobe State by the Borno Native Authority and later, Area Court judge in Yerwa where he rose to become the Chief Alkali, now called chief judge. He was the longest chief imam of Borno, serving for 63 years.

Governor Kashim Shettima described him as one of the strong pillars of Borno who would be eternally missed, especially at such a moment of security challenges. Shettima in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media, Isa Gusau, said the late imam was a rallying point who helped in uniting Borno people through his spiritual guidance and mediation on religious matters as someone that led Muslim worshipers in congregational prayers for over 50 years. Also, Minister of State for Power, Mohammed Wakil, also in a statement described the late chief imam as a great scholar and a devote Muslim, praying Allah to grant him aljanatul firdaus.