The Punch: JNI’s death threat: I’m not moved – Man with 86 wives
An octogenarian with 86 wives, Pa Bello Mohammed Abubakar, has dismissed the fatwa (death sentence) passed on him by a foremost Islamic group, the Jamatu Nasril Islam.
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Pa Abubakar
The JNI had on Thursday reportedly given Abubakar, a prince from the Masaba ruling house in Bida, four days to repent and revert to four wives, failing which he stood condemned according to Islamic law.
The JNI’s Central Fatwa Committee, in the statement signed by its chairman, Sheikh Usman Abubakar Babantunle, and Secretary-General, Abdulkarim Mu’azu, stated that any Muslim who married more than the approved number of wives at a time either by mistake or out of ignorance could choose four of the lot and ask for Allah’s forgiveness. The report, which quoted Babatunde as saying that Abubakar challenged any Muslim scholar to produce any order restricting marriage to only four wives, stated, “He would wish to also know that there is punishment that Allah (S.W.T) has prepared here in this world or the hereafter for any Muslim who has transgressed this boundary to have more than four wives.”
He added that although Abubakar “refered to the Holy Quran Suratun Nisa’I, in which Allah says women of your choice, two, three or four… vividly, he is ignorant of the proper meaning of this verse according to the Standing Fatwa Committee of JNI.”
However, in a telephone interview with our correspondent, Abubakar said he was not moved by the threat. He declared, “I am fully aware of the death threat, but I am not shaken. If I believe that Allah is the giver of life and He alone can take life, I should not be cowed by any threats to my life.”
A defiant Abubakar challenged the Moslem Ummah or jury, as well as others who believe that his action was contrary to the teachings of Islam, to come out with proofs. He said, “There is nowhere in the Quran, or any religious scripture for that matter, where it is said that any man can take another person’s life.” He also described those who issued the death threat as anti-Islam.
Abubakar also lamented what he observed as the frequent misinterpretation of doctrines by religious leaders, most of whom he accused of using religion for their own selfish interests. “God has used me to affect many lives positively. Therefore, no death threat can take me away from the path of truth, justice and honour,” he said.
The Secretary-General of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Dr. Abdul Lateef Adegbite, was said to be out of the country when our correspondent visited his office on Friday.
Also, the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro, and the Force spokesman, Mr. Agberebi Akpoebi, could not be reached for comment as they were said to have travelled out of Abuja. Attempts to reach the Minister of Information, Mr. John Odey, and officials of the Presidency were also futile.
But the spokesman of the Niger State Police Command, Mr. Richard Oguche, told our correspondent on the telephone that the police would protect Abubakar from harm. He said, “It is our duty to protect lives and properties. He has the right to life and there is no law that permits that he should be killed. If a group of persons threaten his life, we cannot fold our arms and allow him to be killed.”
The Punch: JNI’s death threat: I’m not moved – Man with 86 wives