By ISMAILA CHAFE

Hours before he ended his tenure as Nigeria’s 15th President, Muhammad Buhari directed that the control of Obalende Eid prayer ground be returned to the Jama’atul Muslimeen Council of the Lagos Central Mosque.

Malam Garba Shehu, the erstwhile President’s spokesman, confirmed this development in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.

Shehu stated that the president’s approval was in line with the outcome of the report of a Special Committee he set up to investigate and report to him the issues in conflict between the Lagos Muslim Community on one hand and Federal Government Agencies.

The affected federal agencies are those stationed at the Dodan Barracks concerning the management and control of the land.

Buhari, therefore, directed all those government agencies to “recognize and respect the fact that the Obalende Eid prayer ground legally belongs to the Jama’atul Muslimeen Council of the Lagos Central Mosque.”

The president directed that the “desecration of the Obalende Eid prayer ground by its profane use as a dump site should stop with immediate effect and to this effect, the Dodan Barracks authorities should remove all containers and debris from the prayer ground.”

He also directed that the Dodan Barracks authorities “ensure that the Muslim communities and their agents have unrestricted access to the Obalende Eid prayer ground at all times.”

Lastly, he advised the Government of Lagos State to, “if deemed fit, (to) grant the Jama’atal Muslimeen Council a Certificate of Occupancy over the area identified in the Survey Plan.”

The committee that carried out the assignment as directed by the president was headed by the leadership of Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, the Chief of Staff to the president.

The other members were: The Minister of Works and Housing, the Minister of Defence, the Director-General of the DSS, the Chief of Defence Staff and the Permanent Secretary, State House. (NAN)

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